Wills & Estranged Relatives: What Should You Do?

Family relationships are complicated at the best of times – but what happens with regards to making a Will when relationships are so strained, you become estranged from a close relative?

Sadly, estrangement is not that uncommon and as well as emotional consequences for a breakdown in family connections, there are legal ones too.

Can Estranged Relatives Simply Be Excluded From Wills?

Many people think they have complete control over what happens to their estate, as long as it’s included in their Will.

However, a close relative who has been excluded from your Will or only left a small provision, might have the right to make a claim against your estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependents) Act 1975.

Under this Act, certain estranged family members are eligible to claim, including:

• Spouses
• Civil partners
• Children
• Adult children
• Co-habiting partners
• Those financially dependent on you when you die

Close family members can use this Act to apply to the court for reasonable financial provision from your estate, no matter what your Will says.

How Do You Write A Will If You Have Estranged Relatives?

To reduce the risk of an estranged relative making a claim against your estate, disputing your Will, you need to take extra care and precautions when drafting your Will.

Seek legal advice and draft your Will with a solicitor who takes the time to fully understand your situation and what you want to happen to your estate when you die.

If you have a close relative who is estranged from you, in order for your wishes to be carried out with minimum risk of a dispute or claim arising at a later date, you must do more than just state this exclusion in your Will. You need to include supporting evidence that shows exactly why you’re excluding your close relative.

This is usually done through a supporting letter of wishes, a confidential document that details important facts, including:

• Your relationship with the estranged
• The background to the estrangement
• Any financial support you’ve already given them
• Consideration of their situation and why it’s still the right decision for you
• Why you’re excluding them

In particularly complicated circumstances, your solicitor might advise you to make a written statement or statutory declaration, to be kept together with your Will, so that it can be used as evidence if a claim is made.

Other Ways To Minimise Claims Risk

It is possible to draft your Will in such a way that gives you greater protection from future potential claims against your estate.

One possible way is by creating a discretionary trust. Instead of naming an individual in your Will, you name a group of beneficiaries – and this group could include your estranged relative. You then choose the trustees who then decide who gets what and when.

Discretionary trusts have many benefits, including:

• Giving you more flexibility with family complexities
• Giving you more control through chosen trustees
• Giving you some protection as your estranged relative can be included in the group
• Avoiding beneficiaries who are in receipt of means tested benefits from losing those benefits

You can add a letter of wishes to guide your trustees on how best to manage your estate administration, too.

There are drawbacks to discretionary trusts, though, including inheritance tax implications and the fact the trust is part of your Will and therefore part of your estate and claims can be made against it under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependents) Act 1975

Another option is to conduct lifetime planning with your solicitor – this can be used to reduce your estate and value of assets, reducing the likelihood of claims being made against the estate by estranged relatives after your death. This may also have inheritance tax advantages.

Strategies include making lifetime gifts to loved ones, rearranging how you own property, or creating a lifetime trust to hold assets separately to your estate.

As with any of the possible ways to minimise claims risk against your estate, your decisions should be made after receiving professional and tailored legal advice from a specialist. This is a complex area of law and there are many ways for estranged relatives to still make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependents) Act 1975 so it’s important to be prepared.

Core Things To Do With Your Will

There are some things you can do to increase your protection against future claims being made against your estate after you die.

Core things include:

• Seeking legal advice
• Ensuring every document is signed and witnessed
• Appointing professional executors, able to manage any potential disputes
• Reviewing your Will on a regular basis to ensure it’s up to date and reflects your current situation, especially with regard to your relationship with your estranged relative

Helping You With Your Will

Family relationships are almost always far from straightforward, which is why our specialist solicitors have a sensitive approach combined with legal expertise and proven track-records to help clients draft the most effective Will and supporting documents for maximum protection against future claims against their estates.

We can help you with every aspect of your Will, including drafting it with great care and knowledge, advising on the right strategy to adopt based on your individual circumstances, and supporting your executors if there is a dispute after your death.

To speak to us about your Will and situation with an estranged relative, you can contact us at our Chorlton office on 0161 860 7123 or email chorlton@hlfberry.com or at our Failsworth office on 0161 681 4005 or email failsworth@hlfberry.com and we will be happy to help.