Case opens floodgates for contesting a will
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Contested Wills and Financial Provision
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Disputed Wills & Estates
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Case opens floodgates for contesting a will
In a “landmark” case, a daughter was awarded money from her mother’s estate despite not being named in the will.
The Inheritance Act made headlines in last year when the Court of Appeal ruled that the deceased’s daughter would be awarded £143,000 to buy a house (plus expenses) and an extra £20,000 structured in a way that would allow Mrs Ilott to preserve her state benefits. Mrs Jackson (the deceased) and her daughter, Mrs Ilott, had been estranged for 26 years after Mrs Ilott left home aged 17 to live with, and later marry, a man whom her mother did not approve of. This decision was made even though Mrs Ilott had not expected to receive anything in her mother’s will.
The court found that Mrs Jackson had acted in an unreasonable and harsh way towards her daughter. Apart from a small gift Mrs Jackson had left her entire estate (£486,000) to the three charities in her will, despite the fact that she had no connection with the charities during her life time.
The Court of Appeal case generated a lot of debate at the time and raised some interesting questions including would Mrs Jackson’s wish to disinherit her daughter have been upheld if Mrs Ilott had been in employment and earning enough, rather than on state benefits?
The animal charities Blue Cross, RSPB and RSPCA in the case have been granted permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.
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