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This article was published on July 28th, 2017
A woman has been awarded £30,000 from her father’s estate despite him expressing the fact that he had disowned his children in his will.
The daughter, who was one of three children was awarded the money from her father’s £240,000 estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
In his ruling, the presiding judge said the woman should be granted the £30,000 as maintenance as she wanted to complete a veterinary course.
The second sibling was awarded £22,000 due to his inability to work through ill-health whilst the third sibling made no claim.
The case centred on reasonable financial provision highlighted in the Supreme Court’s ruling in Ilot v The Blue Cross and Ors earlier in 2017.
A legal representative involved with the case said: “the award was 11.3% of the estate which is very similar to that in the Ilott case (within 1%). There was specific mention of her wanting to do a veterinary course so this is an example of something that falls under the definition of “maintenance” post-Ilott. This means that estranged child claims are not dead in the water but suggests that any claimants will need to show a track record of reconciliation attempts in order for the Judges to consider their views.’
In his ruling, the judge wrote: ‘£30,000 is my best estimate of the capitalised cost of maintenance for a reasonable time going forward to take into account the possibility, albeit contingent, of the claimant undertaking a course which ultimately results in her becoming a veterinary nurse.’
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