I Am An Executor And Beneficiary Of A Will With 2 Other Family Beneficiaries. An Estranged Family Member Who Had Nothing To.do With The Deceased For 40 Years And Had No Contact And Was Not Supported In Any Way By The Deceased Has Made A Claim From The

[Elouise1967]

Will quoting a 1974 act. He and the deceased his adopted father had a mutual dislike of each other. The claimant was not supported at all financially during the last 40plus years. According to my solicitor he may have a claim and it would cost thousands to fight this. Any ideas?
We dint want to make him an offer

[Bazile]

Did the deceased leave a valid will ?

[Bazile]

Oh , i see he did .

[Baldric]

Baz, from the first line of the Title

/// I Am An Executor And Beneficiary Of A Will ///

[Buenchico]

Pedantic point: 1975, not 1974:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/63

Under Section 1(1) of that Act, the adopted son "may apply to the court for an order under section 2 of this Act on the ground that the disposition of the deceased’s estate effected by his will . . . is not such as to make reasonable financial provision for the applicant".

Section 1(2)(b), '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".

The factors which the court have to consider, when deciding to make an order varying the terms of the will (and, where appropriate, the way in which such terms shall be varied) are defined within Section 3 of the Act. (See link above).

As I see it, it's by no means certain that a court would make an order to vary the terms of the will but (as your solicitor has already pointed out) it could still be expensive to get them to decide not to do so. It might still be best to make a small offer, in order to get the claimant off your back.

[NB: Barmaid is our real expert here, as she's a barrister specialising in such matters. If she posts on this thread, her advice should be taken as more important than that offered by anyone else here].