Claims Against An Estate

There are many situations where an executor of a Will can be faced with a Claim Against the estate to which the Will relates.  Frank Harris Legal Group we work closely with both Executors and Claimants in order to assist in dealing with the contested Will to seek an efficient and cost effective means of resolving the claim wherever possible.

Do you think you have a Claim against an estate?

If you believe that you have a claim against an estate of someone who has died and was close to you there are very strict timelines in which you must initiate your claim.  You should contact Frank Harris Legal Group immediately to discuss the circumstances behind your claim and why you believe you ought to have received a gift or larger gift from the estate.

We will work closely with you and the executors to try and resolve your claim as quickly as possible.  Often Wills do not represent the living wishes of the Deceased. It is not infrequent that people make promises of gifts shortly before death for example where there was little or no time to amend the Will or this was not thought about at the time.

If you did not receive your inheritance at all or received less from the estate than you believe was either promised or entitled to within the Will contact us today.  Where the person died without a will, called intestate, and you were a dependant on the Deceased or believed you would, or where entitled, to receive inheritance you may have a claim against the estate under the Dependency laws.

There are many situations which could give rise to a Claim against an Estate.  See Contested Wills for more information on circumstances where a claim may be possible. Some examples of who can make a claim are below:

• A Spouse or Civil Partner at the time of Death.
• Any former spouse or civil partner, depending on certain circumstances for example that they have not remarried or entered into a new civil partner since separating from the deceased.  There are examples where this will not be possible for example where a Court order during a divorce or dissolution of the Civil Partnership precludes a claim in these circumstances.
• A person who had for a period of two years ending immediately prior to the death of the deceased had lived in the same household as if they were the Husband, Wife or Civil Partner of the Deceased.
• Illegitimate, Adopted children whether adult or not as well as unborn children have a right to claim against an estate whether included within the Will of the Deceased or not.  This includes a claim for a higher value gift if the gift left is insufficient for the needs of a Dependent.
• Where the Deceased was married or in a Civil Partnership and the spouse or partner had a child from another marriage and the Deceased treated that child as a child of the family and was dependent on the Deceased.
• Anyone else who the Deceased made a financial contribution to their lives or “maintained” them.  Any contribution whether this was a financial contribution or something of value to the Claimant up to the point when the Deceased passed.  This would give rise to a possible claim where the deceased assumed responsibility for the Claimant.  The level of any claim will be determined based on the level of assistance provided and the period of time this took place prior to passing of the Deceased.

 Time Limits

There are strict time limits on making Dependency clams when someone passes away.  The executors of a will or administrators of an estate where the person died intestate make an application for official court documents called Probate where there is a will or Letter of Administration where no will exists or can be located.  Any claim for Dependency or provisions from the estate must be made within a strict timeframe of six months of the Court providing the necessary paperwork, ie Probate or Letter of Administration.

Where it can be demonstrated that there is good reason for a delay the court may allow an extension to the timeframes however it must be demonstrated for example that this was due to ongoing negotiations with the executors or administrators for example.

Please contact Frank Harris Legal Group urgently on +1-412-407-6310 to discuss your claim.

Are you an Executor or Administrator facing a claim against an Estate?

When dealing with the estate of the deceased an executor of a will must ensure that the estate deals with any possible claims against the estate as otherwise there could be circumstances where the executor could be personally liable for errors made.  Executors have a duty to ensure the estate is not dissipated to the extent that claims against the estate simply cannot be made as there are no assets available.

For example in the matter of Nahajec –v- Fowle 2007 an executor of a will was made personally liable for the gift to an estranged daughter who made a claim against the estate of her father.  Mr Fowle, the executor of the will and sole beneficiary of the same, dissipated the assets of the estate.  The estranged daughter was successful in the Supreme Court which held that reasonable financial provision had not been made for her and Mr Fowle was personally liable for the award of £30,000.00 plus costs from his personal funds, having wrongly dissipated the estates assets.

The above example demonstrates why if an estate is facing a claim or is aware of a potential claim against the estate they should immediately obtain legal advice from us at Frank Harris Legal Group.  We will advise the estate on the merits of any claim against it and seek to resolve the matter in the most efficient manner so as to protect the assets of the overall estate.

Unfortunately, claims against estates by possible dependents of an estate can be rather complicated in circumstances where the deceased has expressly excluded someone from their gift within a will.  For example where an estranged child has not been in contact with the deceased for a significant amount of time, often decades.  In nearly all circumstances whilst not a dependent at the time of the death of the deceased they will in almost all circumstances be found to be a Dependent in the eyes of the court, children of an estate are always entitled to claim against the estate of their parents. 

It is therefore very important to ensure that all claims against an estate are considered on a case by case basis in order to not only protect the estate from significant costs of dealing with a claim but also to protect the executors or administrators of the estate from personal claims against them.  Call us at the Frank Harris Legal Group immediately on +1-412-407-6310 to discuss the claim and the estate’s affairs.

Here are some of the classifications of people that could make a legitimate claim against an estate, the purpose of instructing a solicitor will be to ensure that such a claim is dealt with justly for all parties involved and to protect the Executor’s or Administrator’s personal liability:

• A Spouse or Civil Partner at the time of Death.
• Any former spouse or civil partner, depending on certain circumstances for example that they have not remarried or entered into a new civil partner since separating from the deceased.  There are examples where this will not be possible for example where a Court order during a divorce or dissolution of the Civil Partnership precludes a claim in these circumstances.
• A person who had for a period of two years ending immediately prior to the death of the deceased had lived in the same household as if they were the Husband, Wife or Civil Partner of the Deceased.
• Illegitimate, Adopted children whether adult or not as well as unborn children have a right to claim against an estate whether included within the Will of the Deceased or not.  This includes a claim for a higher value gift if the gift left is insufficient for the needs of a Dependent.
• Where the Deceased was married or in a Civil Partnership and the spouse or partner had a child from another marriage and the Deceased treated that child as a child of the family and was dependent on the Deceased.
• Anyone else who the Deceased made a financial contribution to their lives or “maintained” them.  Any contribution whether this was a financial contribution or something of value to the Claimant up to the point when the Deceased passed.  This would give rise to a possible claim where the deceased assumed responsibility for the Claimant.  The level of any claim will be determined based on the level of assistance provided and the period of time this took place prior to passing of the Deceased.

Contact us today to discuss your concerns on +1-412-407-6310.