Recent clarities on the Inheritance Act

Recently there has been a litany of decisions in relation to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (“the Act”) offering clarity as to how the courts will treat such claims. At the end of 2019 another decision in Weisz v Weisz and others [2019] EWHC 3101 (Fam) provided guidance in relation to section 5 of the Act.

Section 5 deals with interim orders and specifically the court’s power to make interim distributions in circumstances where there is an immediate need for financial assistance. The wording is wide and there is a lack of reported guidance as to how the discretion is to be approached.

The claimant in Weisz is the widow of the deceased with them having married in 2005. The five defendants are the deceased’s adult children from a previous relationship. The net estate exceeds £4 million and whilst the claimant was entitled to a sizeable income from a trust under the will this income had been reduced and following the claim being issued stopped altogether. Furthermore a vehicle the claimant had been using had been using which had been...

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