The legal implications of a grandparent's £50 legacy

A judge has ruled that a grandad was entitled to give his grandchildren just £50 each out of his £500k estate.

Frederick Ward died aged 91, splitting his estate equally between his two surviving children, Terry and Susan. Frederick had another son, Fred, who sadly predeceased him, leaving five children of his own.

Frederick left £50 legacies to each of Fred’s children, and they thought they should have been entitled to a 1/3rd split of Frederick’s estate between them, so they took the family to court over their missed inheritance.

However, the judge did not find in their favour and deemed that it was entirely rational for the disappointed grandchildren to receive such a small sum because of their limited involvement with their grandfather over the years. Apparently, none of the grandchildren visited him in hospital over the years and barely saw him.

Maybe if they had visited their grandad and had a better relationship with him, he would have wanted to leave them a greater share of his estate. They could have received the circa £33k that they thought they each were entitled to instead of the gesture of £50.

Family Dynamics and Legal Costs

In this case and many others like it, a lot of money is spent on both bringing and defending the claim, and many family dynamics are not recoverable, as there is a lot of anguish and turmoil when dealing with claims.

In Birkett Long’s Wills Team, when taking clients’ instructions, I often hear that one of the main reasons a client does not want to include someone as a beneficiary in a will is due to family fallouts or simply losing contact with someone.

Importance of Seeking Legal Advice

If you are not including someone as a beneficiary in your will, it is important that you seek legal advice so that the correct documents can be put in place to help protect those individuals who you do want to receive your estate ultimately.

Whilst putting in place a will does not guarantee that a person cannot make a claim against an estate, the onus is on the person trying to make a claim against an estate to prove to the Court that they have not been left reasonable provision, or the will is invalid for another reason, for example, undue influence or it was not signed properly etc.

By taking professional advice when you put in place a will, we can ensure that the documents are signed in accordance with the correct signing procedure and can advise you on whether any other documents need to accompany it, which can help deter someone from making a claim.

Comprehensive Estate Planning

At Birkett Long, we appreciate that talking about the reasons why you are not including someone in your will can be difficult. We understand that every situation is different and can help provide practical steps as to the correct documents to put in place if this is the case.

It may be that you want to leave someone out of your will completely or leave unequal amounts to your beneficiaries; whatever the situation, please contact one of our will specialists so that we can provide you with bespoke advice regarding your situation.

Disagreements over inheritance do not have to be over large value items such as property or cash; they can also be over sentimental items that do not hold any commercial value. It is important to think about how all of your assets will be distributed, no matter how big or small the item is.

If you would like to put in place a will then please contact one of our will specialists. I am based in our Colchester office and can be contacted on 01206 217609 or via [email protected]