Inheritance Act claims

Where a will — or the intestacy rules — leave you without reasonable financial provision.

How we can help

Advising whether you fall within one of the categories entitled to claim
Assessing what reasonable financial provision means in your circumstances
Gathering evidence of your needs, resources and relationship to the deceased
Acting within the strict six month time limit from the grant
Negotiating with the executors and beneficiaries
Issuing and running proceedings where settlement is not achievable

Your solicitor

Lauren Darbyshire-Robert

Lauren Darbyshire-RobertPractice Manager

What happens next

Tell us about your relationship to the deceased and your financial position.
We advise on eligibility and prospects, and act quickly to protect the time limit.
We open negotiations, and issue proceedings if the deadline requires it.

Fees for this work

Charged hourly with an estimate at the outset. Where merits are strong, alternative funding may be available.

Common questions

Who can bring a claim?

Spouses and civil partners, former spouses who have not remarried, cohabitants who lived with the deceased for at least two years, children including adult children, people treated as a child of the family, and anyone maintained by the deceased before death.

I'm an adult child. Do I have a claim?

Possibly, but adult children face a higher hurdle than spouses. Financial need, any disability, and what the deceased contributed during their lifetime all matter. Simply being disinherited is not enough.

What is the time limit?

Six months from the grant of probate or letters of administration. It is short and strictly applied, though the court has a discretion to extend it in limited circumstances.

What will I get?

For a spouse, what is reasonable in all the circumstances, whether or not needed for maintenance. For everyone else, provision is limited to what is reasonable for maintenance. The estate’s size and other claims on it matter.

Tell us what's happened

Confidential, reviewed by a solicitor, answered within one working day.