You may be able to challenge the will of someone when the testator (the person who made the will) made a promise to you when they were alive. There is an assumption that the will of the deceased person is valid and that there would not be reasonable prospect of success under The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. For detail on both of those avenues please see Feeling left out? How to challenge your parent’s will and Using the Inheritance Act to challenge your parent’s will.
The fulfilment of a promise made by a person now deceased is not a statutory right, but rather a way for the court to change the way a person’s estate is distributed in a way that is fair in the circumstances. The area of law under which an application is made is called estoppel.
For a successful claim to be made you would need to show three things. Namely:
1. that a promise of property (anything real) was made to you;
2. that you then relied on that promise, and it was reasonable to do so; and
3. that you have suffered detriment as a result of the promise not being fulfilled.
For example, in a circumstance where a parent is assisting their child in the purchase of a property by contributing to the purchase price, and that parent dies before they have the opportunity to pay the funds to their child, the reliance would be shown by the child entering into the purchasing process and exchanging contracts for the purchase. The detriment would then arise when the child could not proceed with the purchase as funds were not available.
This is not the only possible example, but it is illustrative of the fact that all of the elements must be satisfied before the court would consider enforcing the promise of the deceased person.
If you have recently lost someone and believe that they have not fulfilled their lifetime promises to you in their will, please do contact us on 01753 889 995 or by email on enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk and we would be happy to assist you.
This article is part of a series on “Feeling left out? How to challenge your parent’s will”. Read the rest of the series of articles here
