If a Will or the intestacy rules have left you without reasonable financial provision, you may be able to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
Our Inheritance Act claim solicitors in Shrewsbury advise clients seeking to bring a claim, beneficiaries whose inheritance may be affected and executors dealing with disputed estates. We regularly advise on estates involving homes, farms, agricultural land, family businesses, trusts and assets that have passed through several generations.
Our team is recognised by The Legal 500 as a Tier 1 firm for Contentious Trusts & Probate in the North West, our Shrewsbury team advises clients from our office on Oxon Business Park, acting for individuals and families across Shropshire and the Midlands.
These disputes can be deeply personal, particularly where family expectations and long-standing arrangements are involved. We will help you understand the legal position while keeping sight of the practical and family issues behind it.
Inheritance Act claims usually must be issued within six months of the first Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, so it is important to take advice early.
Inheritance Act advice in Shrewsbury and Shropshire
Inheritance disputes rarely start with a legal document alone.
They often have a long history involving financial support, informal arrangements about property, promises about future inheritance, family members working in a business or assets passing from one generation to another.
The Inheritance Act provides a potential route where an eligible person has not received reasonable financial provision from an estate.
Our Inheritance Act Claim Solicitors in Shrewsbury
Our Contentious Trusts & Probate team is led by James Wallace, with Associate Solicitor Rebecca Estry permanently operating from our Shrewsbury office with support from the wider team.
Who can make an Inheritance Act claim?
Eligible applicants can include:
- Spouses and civil partners
- Certain former spouses and civil partners
- Qualifying cohabiting partners
- Children and adult children
- People treated as children by the deceased
- Individuals who were being financially supported by the deceased
Simply expecting to inherit is not enough. You must also show that the estate has failed to make reasonable financial provision for you.
What makes an Inheritance Act claim strong?
Every case is different.
The court may look at your income, savings, property, debts, housing needs, health and future financial requirements, as well as any support the deceased gave you while they were alive.
It will also consider:
- The needs of other beneficiaries
- The responsibilities the deceased had towards you
- The value and nature of the estate
- The history of the family relationship
- Any disability affecting those involved
In estates containing farms, land or businesses, the type of asset can be particularly important. A farm may be worth a substantial amount on paper without generating enough available cash to fund a straightforward settlement.
Claims involving farms, land and rural estates
Inheritance disputes involving agricultural property can be particularly complex.
A farm may have been within one family for generations, while ownership, partnership arrangements and day-to-day occupation have changed over time.
The estate may include agricultural land, farmhouses, cottages, business interests, machinery, development land, tenanted property or assets held through companies or trusts.
These cases can create competing priorities. One family member may need financial provision, while another wants to preserve the farm as a working business.
Our Contentious Trusts & Probate team can work with colleagues experienced in agriculture, rural property, business structures, trusts and succession planning where those issues affect the dispute.
Where an inheritance dispute involves the transfer of agricultural assets between generations, issues relating to succession planning for farms and rural estates may also need to be considered.
Do you have an Inheritance Act claim or proprietary estoppel?
These are different types of claims, but sometimes the same family circumstances can give rise to both.
An Inheritance Act claim asks whether you have received reasonable financial provision from the estate.
A proprietary estoppel claim may arise where someone was promised or assured that they would receive property, relied on that promise and suffered a detriment as a result.
For example, someone may have:
- Worked for many years in a family business
- Accepted lower wages
- Invested money or labour in land
- Given up another career because they believed they would eventually inherit particular property.
That does not automatically mean it is an Inheritance Act claim. We can help establish the right legal basis before action is taken.
Where a dispute concerns a promise of land or property rather than financial provision from an estate, our solicitors can also advise on proprietary estoppel and trust claims.
Inheritance Act Claim vs Contesting a Will?
An Inheritance Act claim can be made even where the Will is legally valid. The argument is that the estate has not made reasonable financial provision for you.
Contesting a Will is different. It involves challenging whether the Will itself should operate, for example because of concerns about capacity, undue influence, fraud, forgery or how the Will was signed.
Where the family history is complicated, more than one potential claim may need to be considered.
If there are concerns about the legal validity of a Will, our specialist team can advise on contesting a Will as a separate route from an Inheritance Act claim.
Adult children and inheritance disputes
Adult children are eligible to apply under the Act, but the law does not require parents to leave their estate equally between their children.
The court will consider your actual circumstances, including income, housing, savings, debts, health and any support you received from the deceased.
In rural or family-business cases, it may also be relevant whether you worked within the business or arranged your life around long-standing family expectations.
Claims by spouses and unmarried partners in Shropshire
A surviving spouse or civil partner may be able to claim where the estate has not left them with reasonable financial security.
This may happen where:
- The family home passes elsewhere
- Most of the estate is left to children
- There are children from previous relationships
- Farming or business assets pass to another relative
- The survivor does not have enough income or secure housing
Unmarried partners do not have the same automatic inheritance rights as spouses or civil partners.
A qualifying cohabiting partner may still be able to make an Inheritance Act claim where the statutory requirements are met.
What does reasonable financial provision mean?
The court does not simply rewrite a Will because it would have divided the estate differently.
For spouses and civil partners, it can consider what provision would be reasonable in all the circumstances.
For most other applicants, the focus is generally on what would be reasonable for their maintenance.
Depending on the circumstances, that can include housing and longer-term financial security as well as everyday living costs.
What can the court award?
The court has a wide range of options.
It may order:
- A lump sum or regular payments
- Transfer of property
- Settlement of property
- Housing provision
- Rights to occupy property
This flexibility can be particularly important where the estate contains assets that cannot easily be divided.
The six-month time limit
Proceedings should normally be issued within six months of the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration being first obtained.
You should not wait for the estate to be fully administered or for family discussions to finish before taking advice.
If the deadline has passed, the court may allow a late claim, but this is not automatic.
Do I need to wait for probate?
No.
You can start taking advice and gathering information before the Grant is obtained.
This may include reviewing the Will, looking at family arrangements, gathering financial evidence and investigating the ownership of land, businesses or other assets.
Starting early can be especially useful where arrangements were informal or evidence is held by several family members
Defending an inheritance claim against an estate
We also act for beneficiaries who are concerned that a claim may reduce their inheritance.
We can help you understand whether the claimant is eligible, how strong the evidence is and how any potential award could affect land, businesses or other family assets.
We also advise executors and administrators on how to manage the estate while the dispute is ongoing. If difficulties arise over how executors are managing or distributing an estate, we can also provide advice on estate administration disputes.
Negotiation and mediation
Many Inheritance Act claims are resolved without a final court hearing.
This can be especially useful where:
- A farm needs to remain intact
- A business needs to continue trading
- Several family members live in estate property
- Family relationships need to continue
A settlement may involve cash payments, property transfers, occupation arrangements, deferred payments or a different division of the estate.
We will look for practical solutions where possible while making sure your legal position is protected.
What evidence do you need?
Relevant documents may include the Will, probate papers, estate valuations, Land Registry records, business or partnership documents, trust information, bank statements, income details and evidence of any financial support or family arrangements.
Where land or businesses are involved, ownership and valuation evidence may need particular attention.
How much does an Inheritance Act claim cost?
The cost will depend on the nature of the estate, the number of people involved and how the dispute develops.
A claim resolved through negotiation will usually involve less work than one requiring expert valuations and a contested hearing.
We offer different funding arrangements for contentious trust and probate disputes and will explain the likely work, costs and risks before you decide how to proceed.
You can learn more about the funding options for contentious trusts and probate disputes before deciding how to proceed with your case.
Why choose Aaron & Partners in Shrewsbury?
Our Contentious Trusts & Probate team advises on complex and high-value estate disputes.
Aaron & Partners also has wider experience that can be particularly useful where a Shropshire estate includes agricultural land, farms, rural property, businesses, trusts, tax issues or succession arrangements.
That means we can look at the estate as a whole rather than treating the Inheritance Act claim in isolation.
Our Shrewsbury office provides access to this wider support for individuals, families and businesses across Shropshire and the surrounding region.
Frequently asked questions by clients in Shropshire
Can I make an Inheritance Act claim against a farming estate?
Potentially. The same legal tests apply, although farming estates can involve additional questions about land, business ownership and how easily assets can be divided.
Can an adult child claim against a parent's estate?
Yes. Adult children are eligible to apply, but the outcome will depend on their individual needs and the wider circumstances of the estate.
I was promised a property or farm. Is that an Inheritance Act claim?
Possibly, but it may also give rise to a different type of claim known as proprietary estoppel. It is important to establish the correct legal route before taking action.
How long do I have to make a claim?
Proceedings should normally be issued within six months of the first Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration.
What happens if the deadline has passed?
The court may permit a late claim, but permission is not automatic. Take advice as soon as possible.
Can inheritance disputes be mediated?
Yes. Mediation is often used in inheritance disputes and can provide more flexible outcomes than a final court judgment.
Our Inheritance Act Claims Expertise
- Advised a claimant in an Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claim against a high value estate, including overseas assets and company assets, where there was a failure to provide reasonable financial provision for a long term cohabiting partner.
- Assisted a client to negotiate a settlement under the Inheritance claim to avoid lengthy court action and risk on costs.
- Secured favourable financial provision for a long term co-habiting partner of the deceased, where it transpired that the deceased had also been married for over thirty years.
Our Shrewsbury Office
Clients can arrange an appointment at our Shrewsbury office on Oxon Business Park, or discuss their inheritance dispute with our team remotely. We have accessible offices with onsite parking available and a bus stop a 2-minute walk away.
Lakeside House
Oxon Business Park
Shrewsbury
SY3 5HJ
01743 443043
Speak to our Inheritance Act claim solicitors in Shropshire
If you are concerned about the provision made for you by an estate, or you are dealing with a claim as a beneficiary or executor, our Contentious Trusts & Probate team can help.
We will listen to what has happened, explain the legal position in plain English and help you decide on the most appropriate next step.
