Need advice

[Mads05]

Hi everyone
my mothers partner died suddenly a short time ago . They lived in his house for around 6 years And where engaged . The problem is that it was his house and I believe he left a will from when his kids where little and always said he didn't want the younger one to get anything . Was just wandering where this leaves my mum as they have said she can stay in the house but I fear that could change very soon . Kind regards

[Amethyst]

So he left a will which leaves everything to his children equally. The house was owned in his sole name and he and your mum never married.

So the question is whether your mum has any rights re the house and whether his wishes for his youngest to not benefit his estate can be actioned ?

Re the youngest - probably not unless he'd made a new will. Plus trying to remove any inheritance from one of his children is likely to cause a reaction to get your mum out of the house which, under the will, has been left between his children. So i would leave that side well alone.

Re your mum - as not married then straightforward answer is she has no rights. However there has been a number of cases in recent years and moves to change the law for cohabitants regarding intestacy. She really needs to see a solicitor specialising in contentious probate matters - she'd be making a claim for reasonable provision for dependants ( a 1975 act claim ) I think the law is going to change for over 5 years cohabiting so it is a possibility as she lived there for 6 years. She'll need to look at what she put into the house ( bills paid, maintenance, contributions to mortgage etc ). It could result in her being awarded a life interest in the property ( basically holding it on trust for his children and able to continue living there although the children would be the owners )

Little bit of info here https://www.mills-reeve.com/insights...-the-cohabitee

[des8]

Your mother must be concerned, as she has possibly been told that as everything has been left to his children she will get nothing but can stay in the house for the time being.

That isn't quite the whole story however as a surviving cohabitee can make a claim on the estate if the deceased died intestate or failed to provide for them in the will if:
they were maintained by the deceased in whole or in part immediately before the death of the deceased; or
for two years prior to the death of the deceased they lived in the same household as the deceased as if they were the husband, wife or civil partner of the deceased.
In such cases the court may be requested to make ‘reasonable provision’ for the applicant. There are a series of guidelines which have been set to ensure that the provision made is fair bearing in mind the size of the estate and the circumstances of those with an interest in it.

I would suggest she consults a solicitor sooner rather than later

refer: Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975


Slow fingers and crossed with Amethyst!

[Mont]

I agree with the suggestion that you should seek help from a lawyer sooner rather than later. Inheritance Act cases need to be commenced in court within six months of probate being granted. So the earlier the claim is made the more time there will be to hopefully resolve matters without the need for expensive court action, or in a worst case scenario, the claim becoming time barred altogether. See: https://www.inheritancedisputes.co.u...ct-claims.html