Some of the key changes being made to the 1975 act
Claims by stepchildren/people treated as children
Prior to the updated law, a person could make a claim if they had been “treated as a child of the family in relation to a marriage to which the deceased was at any time a party”. This means that a person could claim against the estate of someone who was married to their parent. Although there are other classes, the most common type of claimant under this section is a stepchild.
The new Act removes the requirement for the treatment as a child to have been in relation to a marriage. The new requirement is that the deceased must have stood in a role akin to that between a parent and child, which will give rise to potential new claimants. For example, a person will be able to claim against the estate of their parent’s late partner (regardless of whether they were married) which reflects the rise in cohabiting unmarried couples. A person will also be able to claim where the person who treated them as a parent was single.
Claims by people maintained by the deceased
Previously a person could make a claim if they were being maintained by the deceased. The new Act removes this requirement, providing they could show that the deceased contributed more to the relationship than the claimant did. It is no longer necessary to show that the deceased had formally “assumed” responsibility for the claimant’s maintenance. Instead the Court will take into account the extent to which the deceased had assumed responsibility for the claimant in deciding what constitutes reasonable financial provision.
The changes will open up this category to situations where the claimant and the deceased were mutually dependent on each other. An example of someone who might now be able to claim is a non-cohabiting couple where each had assumed some responsibility for each other, rather than the assumption of responsibility being all one way.
Claims before a Grant of Probate is issued
The new Act confirms expressly that proceedings can be issued before a Grant of Probate is obtained. This will assist claimants in estates where no one has taken out a grant (or is perhaps refusing to take out a grant thus preventing a claim being issued).
For more information please visit our page on the inheritance act 2014
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