Dumbledore Actor's Wife Inherited £1.5m; Partner Snubbed

Sir Michael Gambon, known for his role as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films, died aged 82 in 2023, leaving his whole residuary estate to his wife, Anne Gambon. His long-term girlfriend, Philippa, was left nothing under his will despite them having two children, Tom, aged 17, and William, aged 15.

Inheritance Disparity

Michael executed a will in 2016 appointing Anne and his son Fergus (who he had with Anne) as his only executors, and they were appointed to deal with the administration of his estate.

Apart from two £10k pecuniary legacies which were left to Tom and William, the two children he shares with Philippa, his entire residuary estate worth £1.5 million passes to Anne absolutely and in the event that Anne predeceased him, it passed to Fergus.

Possible Reasons and Legal Implications

Even though Michael had apparently split his time between his Anne and Philippa for decades, and they were known to each other, he did not leave his estate in equal shares. One reason for this could be that he may have owned joint assets with Philippa, which could have passed automatically to her by survivorship and not via his will, but it is not clear whether this is the case or not. Perhaps he just had not got around to updating his will, and if he had, then who would have inherited it could have been very different.

Legal Recourse

If Philippa feels that she has not been left sufficient assets under Michael’s will, she could have standing to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 if she can prove to a court that she has not been left reasonable financial provision. There are several categories of people who can make a claim under this Act, and it covers spouses, former spouses, a child of a deceased, and someone who is financially dependent.

Philippa would be an eligible claimant if Michael had been living with her for two years prior to his death; however, this may be difficult to prove if he was going back and forth between his wife and his girlfriend. Another avenue that she might be able to claim is under the category “any person who immediately before the death of the deceased was being maintained, either wholly or partly, by the deceased”. She would need to prove to a court that he had been maintaining her and that she had not been left reasonable financial provision.

In addition, as Philippa’s children were below the age of 18 when Michael passed away, someone could bring a claim on their behalf to state that they have also not been left reasonable financial provision.

Considerations for updating your will

It is important to review the contents of your will regularly, especially if your assets or personal circumstances change over time. As long as you have mental capacity, you can update your will as many times as you wish, so it is crucial that you update it as your circumstances change. By not keeping your will up-to-date, you run the risk that the people you want to inherit your estate will not do so.

If you are not including someone as a beneficiary of your will, it is important that you seek professional advice so that we can put the correct documents in place to help protect the individuals you want to inherit your estate.

If you would like to put a will in place, contact one of our will specialists. I am based in our Colchester office and can be contacted on 01206 217609 or via  leah.woodlee@birkettlong.co.uk