Advice

An accidental inheritance

Monika Volsing Monika Volsing
2 min read

Could you accidentally be leaving an inheritance to your childrens’ ex spouse?

The recent successful application by Kathleen Wyatt to bring a financial claimagainst her wealthy ex-husband Dale Vince, despite being separated for over 30 years, opens up some potential risks as far as parents of divorced children are concerned.

Where a “DIY Divorce” was carried out in the past or where the parties have failed to obtain formal Court approval of their agreement over the division of their finances, there now exists the possibility that any such informal settlement could be revisited in the future.

Whether Ms Wyatt would have brought her claim against her ex-husband had he not become a multi millionaire is uncertain, but his one hundred million pound fortune must have acted as an incentive for her to revisit this matter.

While most people are unlikely to end up with a fortune of that size, it is likely that the majority of people will inherit from their parents later in life. Following receipt of such a windfall, a former son or daughter-in-law may be tempted to revisit the financial settlement reached with their ex-spouse if that settlement has not been confirmed by a Court order. If any of your children have divorced and have not made such an application to the Court already, there is a possibility that the receipt of their inheritance may provide that temptation.

The way to minimise the risk of any such claim being brought in the future is for your divorced child to obtain such a Court order. At the time your child is separating, you may wish to revise your Will so that, following your death, the inheritance is passed into a protective trust, in case a formal settlement had not yet been confirmed by a Court order.

The trust would hold the child’s inheritance, pending the resolution of the financial settlement, after which the funds could be paid over to the child with a reduced risk of any loss to the ex-son or daughter-in-law being incurred.

We are always happy to review our client Wills, please call our Probate team on 0113 320 5000 or email wills@winstonsolicitors.co.uk.

Client feedback

I dealt with Emily regarding my will; she was professional and a pleasure to work with.
Kelly
My husband and I finally got around to having wills written via the charity scheme (St Gemma's). Emily was great at talking us through the options, answering our queries and setting this up professionally, personably and in a timely manner. I would recommend Winstones to others and would use them again for any legal work we may require in the future.
Anonymous
My situation is fairly straightforward with a couple of areas on which I needed a bit of advice. The solicitor was very helpful at explaining the possible options. The process was thorough and executed in a timely way.
Anonymous
After losing a family member last year, it made me realise that I had to sort out a Will, as you never know what’s going to happen and when. Emily explained things in clear English and making my Will was so much simpler than I thought it would be.Thank you so much Emily, highly recommended!
Anonymous
Emily was so helpful, and everything was done easily and clearly.
Anonymous
Our new wills, fantastic
Sharon
From the very onset Emily made us feel at ease. She guided myself and my brother to a successful outcome of navigating what is a complex process with a human touch. This was important to us as we were going through some challenging times with sourcing care homes and navigating Social Services. Knowing Emily was taking care of things both effectively and efficiently was a great reassurance. Emily was quick to act with the Court of Protection, which enabled a lengthy process to be more timely. Thank you Emily
Rose
I was highly recommended to this firm, though initially I was hesitant to work with someone so far away. Any doubts I had, however, were quickly dispelled—everything progressed satisfactorily.Throughout the process, Monika and her team were highly professional and kept me informed online at every stage. Their work was carried out efficiently and to our satisfaction.Thank you, Monika, for your outstanding support throughout this process. I will definitely reach out to you and Winston Solicitors again for any future needs.Sid
Sid
Contact us