The death of a partner is a very difficult time, which can be compounded by being left out of the will either mistakenly or deliberately. You can contest the will of your deceased partner, though it may not be smooth sailing.

Financial provision is the most common contest of a will, where the living partner has not been provided for financially either partially or fully. A spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner can challenge a will, with a successful claim requiring a larger share of the estate to be granted. Civil and married couples have the strongest rights.

Sometimes relationships may be confronting or challenging for other family members to accept, and therefore any challenges to the will may not be met passively.

     What if you are in the middle of a divorce/long divorced when your former partner dies?
If the deceased and you are in the middle of a divorce, but a final agreement had not been made as to the division of your assets, and no legal proceedings have been entered into, the court can treat you like the current partner of the deceased. A time period will likely be applied, however.

If your partner died without a will (intestate) and you are not legally divorced, then the rules of intestacy mean it’s likely you will get a share of the estate. Get legal advice.

If you’ve been broken up or divorced for years, you are likely to have been financially independent, so a claim against a former partner’s estate is not likely to succeed unless a case can be proved that it should.

Write your own story. Call Vanessa Ash and Associates today.