What’s 25 Years Between Family?

Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, certain classes of Beneficiary, such as spouses and children of the deceased individual, can bring a claim if they feel that the deceased’s Will does not make reasonable financial provision for them. The Act provides a strict deadline for submitting a claim to Court of only 6 months from the date of the Executors obtaining a grant of probate, unless the Court gives permission for a Claimant to proceed out of time.

When considering whether to give permission, the Court does have a wide discretion as to the factors it can take into account but even so, most practitioners believe that only short periods of time will be permitted unless there really are truly exceptional circumstances.

That was until the recent case of Bhusate v Patel & Ors, in which Chief Master Marsh allowed the Claimant to proceed with her claim 25 years out of time.

Bhusate v Patel & Ors

In this case, the Court ruled the Claimant, whose husband died intestate in 1990, was “effectively powerless” to do anything sooner in the absence of agreement or engagement by the deceased’s children, who obstructed the sale of the property and then sat back for many years. Chief Master Marsh added confirmed:

“They have stood by until a claim was made and then taken a limitation point so as to deprive the claimant of her entitlement from the estate.”

The Judge noted that should the application not be granted, the Claimant would be left effectively homeless, which he was not comfortable about. It assisted that the Claimant was not an English born national who did not speak, read or write English and had no real understanding of how the legal system worked in the UK.

Comment

Whilst this decision has surprised most practitioners, it does demonstrate quite clearly how each case under the 1975 Act turns on its own facts and it is therefore essential to seek legal advice on your position. Clearly doing so as early as possible will mean that your prospects of success are likely to be far better but as this case proves every case has a possibility of being pursued.