Help with provision of intestacy estate

helpneeded001

Hi, 
Really hoping for some help please. My father died, unmarried and with no will. he had a long term partner and 4 adult children. 2 of these children are with his partner and 2 from first marriage. 

According the the rule of intestacy the partner will not inherit. she had so far received £35,500 from a death in service payment, a life insurance policy and my dads final wages/holiday pay paid directly to her. 

On top of those payments the 2 children from the first marriage are happy to sign a deed of variation to include her in the the estate, share 5 ways instead of 4 so everyone gets a equal share.

The partner and her 2 children are not happy with this are want her/their mum to have the full estate.(only worth around 180K no property involved )

They are saying they are going to seek legal help to ensure this happens. what are the chances of them being able to do that and win? There is no intent from the estate to not include the partner other then she believes she should have more then is being offered. 

Thank you 

RAS

The rules are different in England and Wales, and Scotland. In England and Wales, the partner can make a claim under the 1975 Inheritance Act. 

How old are the "children". Edit: oops, adult

helpneeded001

The children are all aged 20+ and in England. 

If she were to make a claim, would she get more then what is already being offered from the estate? would it be a expensive process? Thank you 

RAS

Well, if it went to court, it could be very costly. 

Who has applied for probate?

lisyloo

Intestacy - who inherits if someone dies without a will? - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The estate is shared between the children I believe.
The salary should not have gone to the partner.
The life insurance and death in service payment may well have been "in trust" and not part of the estate (to be established) in which case it's a matter for the trustees to decide.

The 2 children are entitled to do whatever they want with their money but not with the other half of the estate. I'm not sure how you do a "deed of variaion" if there is no will, but once the money is theirs they can give it to the partner or do whatever they like with it.

It does not matter what anyone wants. The estate needs to be dealt with as per the law.
If they want to give away their own share they are free to do so.

I don't believe there is any chance of challenging the statutory intestacy laws.
Their mum is nothing to do with it (assuming the divorce was settled), but they can of course give her whatever they like from their share once it's their own money.

helpneeded001

the eldest child from 1st marriage applied from probate via a probate company. 

RAS

Well, that was an unnecessary expense, it's easy enough to DIY.

Has the eldest child contacted all the banks, building societies etc and ensure that the partner has not already been to them and removed the funds? They will release up to £50k on sight of the death certificate and signed document in some cases.

lisyloo

helpneeded001 said:

the eldest child from 1st marriage applied from probate via a probate company. 

The eldest child must follow the intestacy laws and split the money 4 ways.
They should also ask for the salary from the partner.

Keep_pedalling

Another right mess caused by a lack of a will.

If his partner was financially dependant on him then she has a reasonable chance of succeeding with a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975. 

Marcon

lisyloo said:

Intestacy - who inherits if someone dies without a will? - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 I'm not sure how you do a "deed of variaion" if there is no will, but once the money is theirs they can give it to the partner or do whatever they like with it.

Same way you do a deed of variation if there is a will. The beneficiaries under the rules of intestacy follow the same process. 

lisyloo

Marcon said:

lisyloo said:

Intestacy - who inherits if someone dies without a will? - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 I'm not sure how you do a "deed of variaion" if there is no will, but once the money is theirs they can give it to the partner or do whatever they like with it.

Same way you do a deed of variation if there is a will. The beneficiaries under the rules of intestacy follow the same process. 

Just for my education - are we talking about an agreement by all parties? I.e. it cannot be forced on some beneficiaries by others (unless they take it through the courts and would need some significant argument e,g, incapacity?)