Step Childrens Claim On A Will ?

[Jennyhum]

Can adult children from a previous marraige that ended in divorce make a claim against a will (made after the divorce and of which they are not included) if my husband of 20+ years dies? He does not want them to inherit and has left everything to myself and our two children

[Davemano]

An almost identical situation happened in our family. Following the death of my mother-in-law, my father-in-law re-married. When he subsequently died his new wife inherited all, and my wife and her brother had no legal claim. I think you will find that your husband's will takes preference.

[Buenchico]

I hope that your husband's will was written after he married you. (Your post reads as if that's probably the case but I just want to make sure). Otherwise your marriage will automatically have voided his will unless it stated that it was written 'in contemplation of marriage'.

Having got that out of the way, the answer to your question is that your husband's children (or anyone he treated as his own child during the time of his former marriage, such as a stepchild) would have the right to apply to the court for a variation of the terms of his will "on the ground that the disposition of the deceased’s estate effected by his will or the law relating to intestacy, or the combination of his will and that law, is not such as to make reasonable financial provision for the applicant".

'Reasonable financial provision' is defined as "such financial provision as it would be reasonable in all the circumstances of the case for the applicant to receive for his maintenance".

It would be up to the court to determine whether an appropriate order (to vary the terms of his will) should be made, based upon the provisions of Section 3 of the legislation. (See link below).

Simply saying "I'm his son/daughter, so I ought to get something" wouldn't be sufficient. The court would want to hear the reasons why his children thought that they should receive money 'for their maintenance'; if he's not been maintaining them for quite some time they might find it extremely hard to argue their case. (However, if for example, he was helping to fund one of his children's university studies at the time of his death, they might well have a very good case for seeking financial provision from his estate in order to complete those studies).

Legislation:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/63

NB: I've assumed that you're in England or Wales. The law is different elsewhere in the UK.

[Peter Pedant]

gt answer BC again - I can see why you made a living from this

isnt it summed up by 'financially dependent or under the age of 18" ?

step fathers dont owe a duty to step children do they ?
in that case my mother missed out on a sizeable portion of the Pru insurance moolah - her step father wasnt insured by the proo but owned it !

[hc4361]

Peter, these are not his step children, they are his children from his first marriage.
They are Jennyhum's step children.

[Peter Pedant]

Oh dear if they are his biologic children, why was the word step-children used ?

why not ask : can a man disinherit his children ?
A. basically yes unless they are under 18 or financially dependent....

or see BC's much more accurate and longer answer....

[Jennyhum]

Thank you all for your answers. Yes my husbands Will was made after we married and yes we are in England. All of your answers have been most helpful. Sorry I should have specified to avoid confusion that they are children from my husband's previous marriage. I used the word Step-Children as I was writing the question from my point of view. Thanks again for all the info.

[anneasquith]

am quite surprised by the fact that his children don't benefit from their fathers estate ?

[hc4361]

anne, a person can leave his estate to anyone he likes and adult children will only succeed in challenging the will if they can prove they were financially dependent on him at his time of death.

There is nothing unusual in this.

[anneasquith]

I know, I just feel it's a bit unfair that some of his children will benefit and others won't.

[hc4361]

We don't know the circumstances.

[Jennyhum]

Anne do you mean you are surprised at the law regarding this or my husband not wanting them to inherit?

[anneasquith]

true,

[ummmm]

Maybe they don't deserve it!

[Jennyhum]

I see Anne well I am not going into personal matters just wanted to know the legal facts.

[anneasquith]

no jenny, not your husband, the law, no disrespect intended,