Speaking for a mate here.......

[micmak]

Husband leaves wife in1975. Divorced in 1976. Court give access to 2 girls. Ex and kids always unavailable at times. Back to court many times. In the end husband gives up. Eventually remarries. Husband is now very ill. Do the children have ant right to his estate?

[bundleone]

Not if he leaves a will, if he dies intestate they are his next of kin.He can leave his estate to anybody he chooses.This is what I think anyway

[Maydup]

If there's a will then its up to him whether they inherit otherwise this is what happens:

Children of the intestate person will inherit if there is no surviving married or civil partner. If there is a surviving partner, they will inherit only if the estate is worth more than a certain amount.

Children - if there is no surviving married or civil partner

If there is no surviving partner, the children of a person who has died without leaving a will inherit the whole estate. This applies however much the estate is worth. If there are two or more children, the estate will be divided equally between them.

Children - if there is a surviving partner

If there is a surviving partner, a child only inherits from the estate if the estate is valued at over £250,000. If there are two or more children, the children will inherit in equal shares:
•one half of the value of the estate above £250,000 and
•the other half of the value of the estate above £250,000 when the surviving partner dies.

All the children of the parent who has died intestate inherit equally from the estate. This also applies where a parent has children from different relationships.

[micmak]

Thanks bundle. I am looking at the law aspect here. An answer from Barmaid or any other appropriate legal person would be nice.

[Maydup]

More info here if its useful

http://www.adviceguid...ules_of_intestacy.htm

[Buenchico]

If he dies intestate his current wife receives all of his 'chattels' (i.e. all of his personal goofs, such as his car, books, furniture, etc). If the rest of his estate comes to less than £250,000 she gets the whole of it.

If the estate exceeds £250,000 she gets £250,000, plus a life interest in half of the residue. The children share the other half of the residue.

If the man has written a will he can leave his money to whomever he likes. However his wife or children could challenge the provisions of the will under the Inheritance (Provision For Family and Dependants) Act 1975. It would then be for a court to decide what each person's reasonable entitlement should be.

Just one last point:
If the man and his wife own their house together as 'tenants in common' his share of the house forms part of his estate and is subject to the foregoing provisions. If they own it as 'joint tenants' then no part of the house forms part of his estate; the whole of the house automatically becomes the property of his wife upon his death.

Chris

[askyourgran]

Husband left wife and kids although he has access he rarely/never sees them, even though court intercedes, so he gives up trying to see them and marries again. If he has made a will naming his new wife then I imagine his current wife will benefit, I think he will have to state specifically how or to whom his estate is to be divided. Hope he's seen a solicitor.

[micmak]

Maidiup. He has left a will leaving ever thing to his wife. His Q is, can they claim from it?

[boxtops]

My understanding is that they can challenge it, but if he has left a legitimate will to his new wife, they are not entitled to anything.

[Maydup]

I think they can challenge it (as can anyone who feels they have a legitimate claim on a will). It would then go to court and the decision would be based on all manner of things including the age and dependency of the children, the value of the estate, your friends state of mind when he wrote the will and the allocation of the funds.

I don't think thye'd have a case if the funds are under £250k but maybe more likely if more than that. You're correct, we do need Barmaid or someone to tell us the likelihood of the children winning their case.

[micmak]

Thankyou maidup. I hope Barmaid sees this thread.

[dzug2]

The children can challenge a will that excludes them but are only likely to succeed if they are financially dependent on the deceased at the time of his death.

Given they must be in their 30s or 40s that sounds unlikely

[Barmaid]

If he has made a will leaving it all to new wife she should inherit.

There are two potential challenges. One of that the Will is invalid for some reason. That won't get the kids that far since then the estate will go under intestacy. (The intestacy rules have already been set out in full so I won't repeat them).

The second, as has already been mentioned is a claim for "reasonable financial provision" under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. Both the kids and the ex wife will be able to claim under this. The ex wife may be debarred if the divorce order included a barring order under s15 of the Act which is very common nowadays. If there is no barring order, if the divorce was on a "clean break" basis she is unlikely to be successful.

The kids are another matter. They do not have to show "dependency", they have to show need. Whilst it is fair to say that adult children of working age and no disabilities are less likely to be successful, these cases are fact sensitive. For an example of a daughter being successful where there was no depencency and the family was estranged, see Illot v Mitson.

I can't really say anymore than that since these cases are always decided on their own facts.

[Skyline D]

I am not a legal expert but I would just note that I think the answer is different if by any chance it's Scots Law you are dealing with here.

[micmak]

Thanks everyone for your input. I will print this off and give it to him. Barmaid thanks for the legal input.

[anneasquith]

what would be the differences in scottish law ?