An adult daughter made a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 for provision from her mother’s estate. The daughter had been estranged from her mother for 26 years and the mother had left her entire estate to various charities without making any provision for her daughter. There was a letter of wishes outlining the mother’s reasons for making such a Will.
In H v Mitson & Others, the Court had to consider whether it was reasonable for the mother not to make any provision for her only daughter and whether her daughter had a claim.
Mother and daughter became estranged when the daughter began a relationship with a man whom she later married. There had been three attempts at reconciliation, but these had failed. The mother’s letter of wishes stated that she did not want to make provision for her daughter as her daughter had left her and married a man of whom she disapproved. On the final attempt at reconciliation, the mother had asked her daughter to send a letter of apology, which the daughter did. However, the mother become upset as the daughter named her fifth child after her mother-in-law, whom the mother disliked. The Court found that the only apology the mother would have accepted would have been if the daughter had left her husband. The mother felt that, in leaving home, the daughter had rejected her and never got over this perceived loss. The mother drew up her final Will, telling her daughter there was no provision for her. The daughter had accepted this but expressed the hope her mother would leave something for the grandchildren.
Initially the District Judge held that “the rejection of her only child was unreasonable and that this has led her unreasonably to exclude her daughter from her Will despite her needy circumstances.” The daughter had five children and was a full-time mother. She lived with her husband in rented accommodation. Her husband worked part-time due to a back problem. A payment of £50,000 was ordered to be made from the mother’s estate. However, the daughter appealed on the grounds that this was insufficient and the charities cross-appealed on the basis that it was reasonable, due to the estrangement, for the mother not to make provision for the daughter.
The Court considered the case as a two stage process, firstly whether the Will had made reasonable provision, and, if not, it had to consider what provision should be made. It was not looking at whether the deceased acted unreasonably, but whether the result of the lack of provision was unreasonable. Otherwise the Court could undermine the basic premise that the deceased has the right to leave her estate to whomever she wished. The Court found:-
• the daughter had no expectations of inheritance and there was no obligation on the mother due to the estrangement;
• the reconciliations had failed – the daughter failed to tell her mother about her marriage, failed to tell her mother of the birth of three of the grandchildren, although the daughter had written an apology, none of the attempts at reconciliation were initiated by the daughter, the daughter knew about an abusive telephone call between her husband and her mother which ended a period of reconciliation, there were no attempts at reconciliation in the last four years before the mother’s death;
• the daughter’s needs were partly due to her own actions and choices: she had five children and had decided to remain a full-time mother rather than work, her husband only worked part-time and the elder children were in early adulthood and capable of looking after the youngest child which would enable both parents to work.
The Court decided that the mother had the right to decide how she wanted to leave her estate as the law rejected the concept of forced heirship so the Court should not interfere even if this left the adult daughter with financial needs. Therefore the charities cross-appeal was allowed and the daughter’s claim for provision dismissed.
This case shows how important it is for people making Wills to be absolutely clear about their wishes and to consider any potential problems that may arise. A clear letter of wishes, made and kept with the Will, also helped in explaining the mother’s wishes and why she had chosen not to make provision for her daughter. Lawson-West will highlight any potential problems and help you draft a letter of wishes so that your reasons for making your Will the way you have are clear and can give guidance at a later stage if required.
If you would like to make a Will, please call 01858 445480 now or complete one of the on-line forms. You can make an appointment at any of our branches in Market Harborough, Wigston or on Uppingham Road in Leicester. We can also arrange a home or hospital visit if you are unable to attend any of our offices due to your ill health.
