Is the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 fair?

Rachael Williams and Lucy-Allena Mcllroy, Irwin Mitchell

Review of the current position regarding the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 and comparing the Act to the changes and evolution within society since it was created. By doing this, we have reviewed recent high profile cases and considered what reforms may be beneficial to both lawyers and claimants in the coming future. A focus of the article is assessing how fair the Act is, to consider this, we look into recent cohabiting couple statistics and how maintenance is only considered for a spouse, the lack of guidelines within the legalisation alongside testamentary freedom of a testator. The reforms which we conclude with are, to have equality between married and cohabiting couples, clearer guidelines for the courts and a maintenance calculator which will give more certainty to those making a claim and when advising clients.

The full article will be published in the April issue of Family Law. 

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Read the full article here.