The deceased had left his widow a life interest in his residuary estate, with power for his trustees to purchase a house for her occupation, which they had duly exercised. The essential question was whether, as the widow claimed, she should be awarded an absolute interest in the house, a question answered in the negative: ‘The Act of Parliament makes plain that the court’s powers only arise if the court is satisfied that the disposition of the deceased’s estate by his will fails to make reasonable financial provision for the plaintiff. It seems to me that the plaintiff has manifestly failed to cross the threshold. It is not for this court to rewrite the testamentary provisions of deceased persons lightly. If in this case it can be said that the provision of a life interest in the entire residuary estate is not reasonable provision then I think that could be asserted in almost any case in which the testator elects to make provision for his surviving spouse by that means.’
Judges:
Thorpe J
Citations:
[1993] 1 FLR 54
Statutes:
Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 2
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Krubert, Re; Krubert v Davis and Others CA 27-Jun-1996
The beneficiaries under the will appealed against an order under the 1975 Act, effectively transferring the entire estate to the surviving spouse.
Held: The effect of sections 1, 2 and the other material provisions of the 1975 Act is that on . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Family, Wills and Probate
Updated: 16 May 2022; Ref: scu.196906
