From the courts

Family provision – a claimant fails

There have been a number of recent cases in which wills leaving substantial gifts to charities have been successfully challenged by non-charitable beneficiaries. It has almost seemed that the courts, while acknowledging the testamentary freedoms given by English law, will not allow the testator’s children to be disinherited. The Family Division has, however, reaffirmed a more traditional approach. A daughter’s claim, under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, when her mother’s will left everything to three charities: H v Mitson [2009] EWHC 3114 (Fam).