Charities Win Landmark Ilott v The Blue Cross and Others Will Dispute In Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has handed down its Judgment in the landmark Ilott v The Blue Cross and others Will dispute appeal today (15 March 2017).

In July 2015 the Court of Appeal (CoA) ruled that Heather Ilott, now in her 50s, could challenge her mother Melita Jackson’s will under the Inheritance Act 1975 after she left her estate worth around half a million pounds to the RSPCA, RSPB and Blue Cross animal charities. The CoA awarded Mrs Ilott £143,000 to buy the rented home she was living in and a further £20,000 in cash as additional income which was an increase from the £50,000 she was previously given by a District Judge.

Mrs Ilott had left home with a boyfriend at the age of 17 and her mother had apparently never forgiven her and excluded her from her will making it clear she did not want her daughter to inherit anything. The CoA judges ruled that Mrs Ilott, who has five children, was not given a reasonable provision from the estate for her future maintenance as she was on benefits and had no pension. They also added that Mrs Jackson had 'no connection' with the charities during her lifetime.

However the Supreme Court has unanimously overturned the CoA decision and re-instated the District Judge’s award of £50k.

Expert Opinion

“Each case contesting a Will is decided on its individual merit, but this Judgment could potentially make it more difficult for adult children to challenge their parent’s Wills under the Inheritance Act and it may give people executing a Will greater strength to resist any challenges. It may also give people the peace of mind for people writing a Will that their wishes will be followed, and children can still be disinherited, unless certain criteria are met by the challenging party.

“The Judges did give some clarity on what is considered to be a reasonable maintenance for non-spouses and felt that in this particular case there were no grounds for overturning the original order of £50k made by the District Judge, dismissing the Court of Appeal decision to award £163k. They outlined that reasonable provision could include a life-interest for provision of housing, rather than a large capital sum.

“However, as Lady Hale pointed out, there is still a need for further guidance or even legislation around the circumstances in which adult children might be able to bring a claim for a more reasonable maintenance which is currently decided on a case by case basis.” Paula Myers - Partner

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in Contesting a Will.