Withers Worldwide

English law provides an opportunity for a wide variety of people to claim financial provision from an estate if they feel that a deceased's will or intestacy does not make 'reasonable financial provision' for them. To bring a claim, an applicant must fall into one of the following categories: surviving spouses and civil partners, former spouses and civil partners, children (including adult children and anyone who was treated as if they were a child of the deceased), cohabitees and dependants.

The team has considerable experience and practical knowledge in representing clients in claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (commonly known as Inheritance or 1975 Act claims). Paul Hewitt is a co-author of the Law Society's Inheritance Act Claims. Sue Medder contributed the chapter on 1975 Act claims for the Law Society's Probate Practitioner's Handbook.

We bring claims on behalf of a broad range of individuals under the 1975 Act. In defending claims, we draw on our extensive experience in representing charity clients who rely on legacy income, such as Cancer Research UK, the RSPCA, and the Salvation Army, which regularly face claims from individuals under the 1975 Act.

Whichever side we represent, we work to achieve a settlement out of court where possible. However, we will take claims to trial in the face of unreasonable behaviour. In Dunn v Dunn & another [2004] the intransigence of the defendant stepchildren saw our 80-year-old client secure an award which, together with an order for her costs, exceeded the estate value. The effect was that the stepchildren were forced to repay our client's costs out of their own pockets. In P v P [2006] we acted for the successful claimant in the first 'big-money' widow's claim under the 1975 Act since significant changes in the treatment of spouses on divorce were introduced in White v White [2003].