What is ‘reasonable financial provision’ under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (‘the Act’) and what exactly is taken into consideration when making a claim?
The Act enables certain people who have not been left sufficient monies under a Will to bring a claim for reasonable financial provision from the Deceased’s Estate.
The Act sets out who is eligible to apply. They will need to be a “connected person” which includes a spouse or civil partner, a former spouse or civil partner, a child of the Deceased, a partner of the Deceased or any other person who was being financial maintained by the Deceased immediately before their death.
In a recent case, Wellers were instructed by Executors of an Estate to defend a claim made by the Deceased’s relatives who claimed that the Deceased was providing for their family financially before her death and that without any financial provision from the Estate, they would be living in poverty. They were able to bring a claim as “…any other person who was being financial maintained by the Deceased immediately before their death…”
The first question was whether financial provision was being made before the Deceased’s death, and if so, how much. We also needed to consider whether the payments being made immediately before death were considered reasonable financial provision. Reasonable financial provision is defined in the Act as “…such financial provision as it would be reasonable in all the circumstances of the case for the applicant to receive for his maintenance…”
Although the Claimants were able to show that the Deceased had in fact been making payments to them, they could not show that the payments being made amounted to reasonable financial provision as they were unable to produce evidence of their income and expenditure showing their needs.
There were also unable to show that regular payments were being made immediately before the Deceased’s death. In fact, the evidence revealed that no payments had been made by the Deceased to the Claimants for six months prior to death so the Court concluded that the limited payments made to the Claimants by the Deceased would not amount to reasonable financial provision based on the evidence supplied.
The Claimants produced thousands of pages of bank statements, which simply did not support their claim that they had been receiving any significant or regular payment from the Deceased before her death. The Claimants failed to show that any payments they had been receiving prior to the Deceased’s death amounted to a contribution towards their reasonable needs.
Due to the Claimants lack of evidence in support of their claim, we made an application for the claim to be struck out on the basis that the Claimants did not have a real prospect of success. This application was successful, and the Claimants were ordered to pay our clients’ costs.
As stated above, for a Claimant to be successful in a claim for financial provision on the basis that they were being financially supported by the Deceased, they must establish that they are a “connected person” and then satisfy all other requirements under the Inheritance Act.
Every case is different, and what may be established as reasonable financial provision in one case, does not necessarily set the threshold for reasonable financial provision in another. The Court is required to consider all of the circumstances of a case to include the relationship the Claimant had with the Deceased, the financial position of them before the Deceased died, the financial position of the Claimant after the Deceased’s death and the financial circumstances of all beneficiaries.
Therefore, there is no specific threshold for what is deemed as reasonable financial provision. Every case should be assessed on its own merit, taking into consideration the circumstances of the case and potentially the financial position before and after the Deceased’s death, of all parties involved.
Here at Wellers, we can help you navigate through these often difficult and sensitive claims whilst protecting your interests as each claim is considered carefully on a case-by-case basis. Do not hesitate to contact Sasha Burl today on 01732 446372 or email enquiries@wellerslawgroup.com