The recent decision in the case of Cowan v Foreman [2019] provides a stark reminder of the need to bring claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Families and Dependants) Act 1975 (“the Act”) on time.

In this decision, the High Court rejected a widow’s application for permission to commence an inheritance dispute claim against her late husband’s estate.

The deceased, Michael Cowan, died in April 2016. In his Will he left his wife, Mrs Cowan, various interests in trust but he failed to make any outright provision for her. Mr Cowan’s estate was worth approximately £16 million. The couple had only married shortly before he died but they had been living together since 1994.

Mrs Cowan decided to bring a claim under the Act but her claim was started 16 months after the court deadline. The deadline for making such claims is 6 months from the Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration.

Mrs Cowan’s solicitor had agreed with the Trustees of Mr Cowan’s estate that they would not oppose her out of time application (“a standstill agreement”). Unfortunately, standstill agreements were not agreed with the beneficiaries. One of the beneficiaries objected to the application for permission to apply out of time and her inheritance dispute claim was rejected by the High Court.

The High Court criticised the use of standstill agreements stating that it is “not for parties to give away time that belongs to the court”. The Judge hearing the case commented that Mrs Cowan’s claim was weak because she had received sufficient provision via the Will trusts.

The courts have a broad discretion when it comes to considering inheritance disputes and applications for permission to bring such claims out of time. It is essential that legal advice is sought as soon as possible regarding inheritance disputes, probate disputes and will disputes to ensure that important deadlines are not missed.

If you would like to discuss disputing a will, defending a will dispute, probate disputes, or inheritance disputes, please contact our specialist contentious probate lawyers on 01384 410410 and ask to speak to Liam Owen or Susan Ford. Alternatively, you can e-mail us at contentiousprobate@georgegreen.co.uk providing a brief summary of the issues you wish to discuss with us, along with your contact details and we will contact you if we think we may be able to help.