Possible challenges to intestacy rules

Benson17

My father-in-law recently passed away but the DIY Will he left, for his estate to be divided equally between his 3 sons and a long-standing companion, was deemed to be invalid as the Will was only witnessed by one other person. His sons have been advised that the estate would be settled under intestacy rules, i.e., divided equally between the 3 sons only. It should also be noted that his mental health was deteriorating at the time it was written and he was diagnosed with dementia 8 months later.

The sons are considering gifting some of the estate to her, but regardless of this, could she challenge the distribution under inheritance laws, or is she prohibited on the grounds that she is neither a member of the family (they were never married and lived in separate houses) nor financially dependent on him (her house was her own and she had her own source of income)? 

Additionally, I’ve heard that a ‘Promissory Estoppel’ could be used through the courts, and I’m concerned this could be used to claim she was promised a part of the estate in the invalid Will and may argue that she has suffered a loss due to an arrangement they had, where she would cook his meals and clean his house at the weekend. My questions, that I hope someone can answer are, would the invalid Will count as a promise? and would the cooking and cleaning be regarded as a loss to her? I would add that this arrangement existed several years before the Will was signed and he reciprocated over this time with other manual tasks at her home e.g., joinery. 

We will be seeking legal advice but your thoughts on these questions would be most welcome before we proceed.

SeniorSam

You do not say how long the companion was with your father? That would have a bearing on a challenge under Promissory Estoppel, but from what you say, it would appear that she would have a claim, even though she may be reluctant to take the action which would upset the relationship she had with the family.

As an court action can be very costly it would be far better to come to an arrangement that all were happy about.  Lawyers are always prepared to take action, as their fees are assured.  I do hope that you can sort this out amicably as I feel sure your Father would have wished for that to be so.

Benson17

Many thanks for the helpful comments.  Much appreciated.

Marcon

Any idea what the companion 'expected' in terms of possible inheritance? And what's the rough overall value of the estate?

Benson17

The value of the estate is around £300k.  We're not sure if the companion has a figure in mind in terms of possible inheritance but the invalid will mentions 25%.

I should have mentioned in the earlier post that about 10 years prior to the invalid will my father-in-law made another DIY will leaving everything to his sons.  He made a verbal request to them to give the proceeds of some shares to his companion worth in the region of £5k in today's money in the event of his death which they confirmed they would do.  Nothing further was mentioned and they were not aware of this later Will until he passed away (there was no record of this earlier Will amongst his papers so we assume that he must have got rid of it).  We're not sure how much the dementia diagnosis affected his decision making process.  

getmore4less

Is there any evidence she knew about the will.

Savvy_Sue

I'd like to think that if my sons ever found themselves in this situation, they'd take into account that this was an ongoing and mutually beneficial relationship, if not the love of a lifetime, and draw up a deed of variation in line with the unsigned will. 

cheaper than taking legal advice to consider whether the actual will can be challenged, friendlier to someone who is presumably grieving in the same way as you sons are grieving, faster to resolve, and DEFINITELY cheaper than actually defending any legal action.

There might be an argument to suggest offering her less than 25% to reflect what it might cost her to challenge and you to defend, but that's my suggestion. Alternatively if some of you are willing to consider this and others not, divide the share of those will to 'lose' something into equal shares with her. 

Froglet

The facts remain that legally,there is no official will.So The estate goes to the sons. If this lady starts talking courts and legal action,she risks losing and then is likely to get offered nothing.

Whereas at present,all 3 sons are generously considering giving her some of their individual inheritance ,which legally they do not need to.In many family situations she would not be offered anything. Despite what the deceased has promised her in the past,sadly he did not back it up in deed.

It just reiterates how important it is to make a legally binding will.

I do hope it can all be settled amicably,Benson,it's what your father in law would have wanted.

Benson17

getmore4less said:

Is there any evidence she knew about the will.

She appears to know about the existence of the Will but she's not indicated to anyone that she's read it.

SeniorSam

She may be waiting to see if the children are going to be fair and treat her as she justly deserves.

Benson17

Froglet said:

The facts remain that legally,there is no official will.So The estate goes to the sons. If this lady starts talking courts and legal action,she risks losing and then is likely to get offered nothing.

Whereas at present,all 3 sons are generously considering giving her some of their individual inheritance ,which legally they do not need to.In many family situations she would not be offered anything. Despite what the deceased has promised her in the past,sadly he did not back it up in deed.

It just reiterates how important it is to make a legally binding will.

I do hope it can all be settled amicably,Benson,it's what your father in law would have wanted.

We're hoping for an amicable solution. The main question at the moment is if she declined the gift offered by the son's from their inheritance, would she have good grounds for a challenge through the courts under Promissory Estoppel claiming that father-in-law promised her 25% of the estate (we don't know if she's seen the contents of the invalid will)  as she had provided friendship/domestic tasks in return.