This case shows the scope of the Court’s powers when it comes to claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
In this case the house passed by survivorship to the deceased’s brother, but he was ordered to return his joint interest in the former family home back into his deceased brother’s estate for the benefit of the deceased’s wife, since the Will failed to make reasonable provision for her.
Given the deceased’s apparently clear intentions to for his wife to continue living at the property, one has to wonder whether there was negligence on the part of the will drafter as to severance of the tenancy and advising on the property ownership/life interest.
In any case, it shows the broad scope for finding solutions for difficult cases such as this.
Widow awarded £80,000 from brother-in-laws inheritance Beneficiary that inherited a one-half beneficial interest in a house by survivorship, is ordered to return £80,000 in equity to the estate of his dead brother. In the recent High Court case of Beg v Beg, 2021 EWHC 2598 Ch, the deceased Ehsan Beg left a will bequeathing his estate in full to his wife Amina Beg. Following Ehsans deaths a dispute arose regarding the family home that Ehsan and Amina lived in before his death, as it was registered to Ehsan and his brother Arif Beg. The house had been owned by Ehsan and Arifs mother until she died in 2009, but clarification around whether the brothers held the property as beneficial joint tenants or as beneficial tenants-in-common, was missing.
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