A recent case demonstrates the importance of up to date Wills for couples who cohabit

Joy Williams bought a home in Dorset with her partner Norman Martin after he split from his wife. Joy and Norman bought the 3 bedroom property together as tenants in common rather than as joint tenants.

As the property was held as tenants in common, when Norman Martin died in 2012, his half of the house passed to his estranged wife rather than to Joy. This is because Norman never divorced and did not update his Will. In this case, if the property had been owned as joint tenants, it would have passed to Joy Williams on death.  A  surviving joint tenant would automatically take ownership of the whole of the property following the death of the deceased joint tenant.

Joy Williams brought a claim for an order for reasonable financial provision to be made out of the estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. She had to show that for the two years up to his death she had lived in the same household as Norman Martin as his wife or that immediately before his death she was being maintained wholly or partly by him.

The claim brought by Joy Williams was successful and at the hearing at the Central London County Court,  Judge Nigel Gerald stated that the “fair and reasonable response” was that she should “retain an absolute beneficial interest “ in the house.

Although in this case there was a successful claim for reasonable financial provision, the judge referred to the estranged wife and daughters as being well provided for. The likelihood of success will depend on the individual circumstances of the case. If cohabiting couples have up to date Wills in place, they can avoid leaving such things to chance.

If you wish to discuss your existing Will with us, please contact Lisa Baker of our Wills and Probate team on  0113 225 8811 or lisabaker@chadlaw.co.uk who can advise you further.