What can you do if you are left out of your partner’s will?
If you are unmarried and have been left out of your partner’s will then you may be able to make an Inhertitance Act claim. In this case study we explain how we helped a man who had been left homeless after his partner died. To make matters worse his previous solicitors had no faith in the claim and refused to fund it. We agreed to work on a No Win, No Fee basis and won the case. To find out where you stand, call our free helpline on 0333 888 0407 or email us with details.
We recently settled an inheritance claim shortly before the trial was due to take place. We had been asked to deal with the claim when the client’s previous solicitors refused to fund it on a no win, no fee basis. Because we specialise in inheritance claims we are confident in our ability to win a case that has legal merit and were therefore willing to take on the case on a no win, no fee basis. We are also always happy to consider taking cases over from other solicitors who do not offer this form of funding.
In this case the client was pursuing a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 against the estate of his late partner. They had cohabited for a number of years in her property and she had financially maintained him for some of that time.
The claimant’s partner made her will before she met him. It therefore failed to make financial provision for him and she never made a new will. She left her entire estate to her adult daughter. This meant that our client faced losing his home and the financial support he had relied upon for prior to his partner’s death.
We argued that he should receive financial provision from her estate for his maintenance under the Inheritance Act. There was a dispute about the value of the claim, the pension he received from his late partner, and the impact of a child from an earlier marriage on the claim.
After efforts to reach an out of court settlement failed we issued court proceedings and brought on board an expert barrister to represent our client at trial. However, shortly before the trial was due to take place the daughter’s position softened and the inheritance claim was settled by negotiation out of court.
Our client received a lump sum from the estate which was to be paid in two instalments. This was a good result and enabled him to build a new life for himself and his son.