header-logo header-logo

25 March 2022
Issue: 7972 / Categories: Features , Wills & Probate
printer mail-detail

Inheritance Act claims: A high bar for adult children?

75711
How does the court approach the issue of adult children who claim a will fails to provide for them? Myles McIntosh reports
  • In Miles and another v Shearer [2021] EWHC 1000 (Ch), two adult children brought separate claims for financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependents) Act 1975.

The case of Miles and another v Shearer [2021] EWHC 1000 (Ch), which gathered significant press interest, recently looked at the increasingly common scenario of adult children bringing separate claims for financial provision. The case provides a detailed analysis of the approach the court will take into account when considering these types of claims.

Juliet Miles and Lauretta Shearer (‘the claimants’) brought claims, as the adult daughters of the late Anthony Shearer who died in 2017, against his estate. They both sought orders that their father’s will (prepared in 2015) failed to make reasonable financial provision for them.

The claimants were the children from Mr Shearer’s first marriage. That marriage was dissolved in 2007 after 34 years.

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
back-to-top-scroll