Contesting A Will, Illegitimate Child.

[sheribee]

Hi everyone. I just found out my biological father passed away on 23rd Dec 2011. I was an illegitimate child and he never married my mother, choosing to return to his ex wife who was also pregnant (my half brother is 8 days older).
I did not see my father growing up, his wife would not allow it and only saw him occasionally in adult hood, speaking on the phone when he bothered.
My question being, can I contest his will? Him and his wife were very well off, and he did not give my mum money for me (£30 I think he said he had sent in a letter) no birthdays, Christmas etc, nothing. Whereas my brothers had everything they could ever want. My mother struggled financially and I imagine emotionally too after what this awful man did to her!! 38 yr old gets 19 yr old pregnant, promises to marry her then leaves her 6 months pregnant, 3 days before the wedding and goes back to ex wife who is also 6 months pregnant!
I have all the hand written letters from him to my mother stating that he is my father and that he had given her on occasions small amounts of money towards my keep, one letter he writes " what shall become of Sheri? She is our daughter". But he is not named on my birth certificate.
I feel that he owes me something, I have nothing, I struggle (as many do) and his 2 sons are sitting pretty. He has got away with not helping my mum my whole childhood.
He is not here now and I wish I got the chance to tell him how much he hurt me, but I can't. So maybe if I can get something, I can pay my bills and have a slightly better life for me and my children ( his grandchildren, whom he never met).
Sorry, I went on a bit x hope someone can help x

[boxtops]

It's not really my province, but has the will been distributed yet? I imagine that over a year later, it will all have been done and dusted by now. I don't know you could contest it after that.

Which part of the UK do you live in? That might make a difference.

[sheribee]

I live in Northamptonshire, my father lived in West Sussex. I have just moved up here having only lived 10 miles away from my father.
I too would presume that the estate has been distributed after a year.

[albaqwerty]

As far as I know, the law regarding illlegitimate children was changed many, many years ago so that all children were treated as equal.

If his sole property was involved, then I doubt it would have been sold inside a year.

I wish you well.

[bednobs]

as far as i know, in english law people can leave their money to whom they want. You weren't dependent on him when he was alive by the sounds of it, so i don't thinky you have any come back there either. Barmaid is very good at this type of thing though, so hopefully she will see this and give you the correct legal answer.
Have you considered though, even if you did do this 1) how would you afford to get legal advice and 2) even if you got something, you are not getting it from your dad - it's not his money after all now, you'll in fact be getting it from your brothers. If he owed you something, you (or your mum) should have petitioned hom for it while he was alive

[Buenchico]

The first question has to be 'Are you sure that he left a will?'. If he didn't, and died intestate, then any illegitimate children are each entitled to the same share of his estate as his legitimate children - but the estate has to be valued at more than a quarter of a million pounds or they'll get nothing anyway. (Up to that amount his wife would get everything). See the chart here for an explanation of the intestacy rules:
http://www.tollers.co.uk/system/docs/178/original/Rules%20of%20Intestacy%20Flowchart.pdf
(It's actually possible to challenge the intestacy rules, as below, but that's probably far harder than challenging a will).

If your biological father did leave a will he was entitled to include or exclude anyone he liked (or disliked, as the case may be). He could leave everything to Battersea Dogs' Home if he so chose. It would then be up to anyone who thought that they should have received some benefit from the will to challenge it if they chose to do so.

Any his children (irrespective of legitimacy or otherwise) can apply "for an order . . . [varying the will] . . . on the ground that the disposition of the deceased’s estate effected by his will or the law relating to intestacy, or the combination of his will and that law, is not such as to make reasonable financial provision for the applicant"

Section 3 of the relevant Act lays down the matters a court must have regard to when deciding whether to grant such an order:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/63

You may well have a legitimate claim but you should be warned that plenty of legal battles over such matters have ended with the entire value of the estate being swallowed up by legal fees. A good solicitor would probably start by seeking to get the existing beneficiaries of the will to voluntarily give part of their inheritance to you, in return for you agreeing not to pursue action through the courts. A bad one might simply start building up lots of legal expenses straight away. Proceed with caution!

Chris

[sheribee]

I think my mum wanted nothing to do with him after what he did to her, and sadly she passed away when I was 15 too.
I know he would have left me out of the will as he would not have wanted to upset his wife. It has annoyed me that nobody told me, my half brother had my mobile number and my number was also in my dads phone. Probably for the reason that they knew I would try to contest.
Its just that I have nothing, literally ( though I am rich in other ways having 3 amazing children!) my house is falling apart, I can't even afford clothes to fit me, while his wife lives in a nice big house, paid for by my father working until not long before he died. I never had anything from him, and yes I do feel he owes me, and his wife, as imagine how much they saved by never giving my mum anything, thousands I bet!
Sorry, I am angry at him as you can probably tell, the one thing he could have done to help me, and he didn't bother! A couple of grand could completely change our lives, and he couldn't even do that for me :(

[sheribee]

Thanks Chris, he was in poor health for many years, so I would imagine he had a will. Also, his wife may have thought I would be entitled to claim if he did not.
I do not have any money, my husband is unable to work at present due to health problems so we are currently claiming benefits ( which is awful and I want to get out of this situation ASAP ) so I would have to claim some form of help if there is any out there.
As he is not named on my birth certificate then I thought this may b a problem, though I do have his hand written letters stating I am his daughter.

[Barmaid]

Sheribee

Can I firstly ask whether you were adopted by another man? If so, there is no claim.

If not, you potentially have a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. This is on the basis that you are a child of the deceased and that reasonable financial provision has not been made for you. Such a claim should be made within 6 months of the Grant of Representation to the deceased's estate, although it is possible to ask the Court to extend that time limit. The first part of Buenchico's advice is relevant in this respect as to whether he left a will or not.

You need to act quickly. Either see a solicitor or contact a barrister who is authorised to act under the "Public Access Rules" (ie you can go to a barrister direct and cut out the middle man).

You should remember, the purpose of the Act is not to provide a remedy for past ills but to provide reasonable financial provision for the claimant (and unless you were adopted, you will be a potential claimant). Please take legal advice sooner rather than later - you do have a potential claim, but acting fast is very important.

[sheribee]

Hi, no I was not adopted by another man, my mum re married but I did not want him to adopt me.
I know that by contesting his will wont make up for what he did, and I actually pity him for what he lost, a daughter and 2 beautiful grand daughters, he now also has a grandson. He gave up so much!
I owe it to my children to try and claim something, to help get us out of this situation we exist in, he never did anything for me in life, maybe I can salvage something after his death.
Where would be the best place to start for help? X

[MASS1961]

I would certainly take all this advice on board sheribee and take some legal advice. Start at the Citizens Advice, they can hopefully point you in the right direction.

Hope you have a Happy New Year

[Peter Pedant]

For chrissakes Sheribee do as Barmaid says
that is the start he has given you

.
I am surprised your half brother didnt tell you your Dad had died.
Odd that.

You really need to see that Barrister/solicitor quig !

and good luck

[sheribee]

I was the family secret, nobody knew about me. Me and my half brother went to the same school, in same maths and English classes and didn't even kno we were brother and sister. Never had a relationship at all with either brothers, spoke on phone cpl of times, I knew they would never tell me as they probably knew I would contest.
I will be contacting some solicitors tomorrow and see what comes of it, I will keep u posted x