CAN A STEPCHILD CHALLENGE A WILL?

A stepchild has no automatic right to challenge a step-parent’s will.

To establish eligibility they need to show that they lived in the same household as the deceased, and that the deceased cared for them during this time.

Then they need to demonstrate that there are “factors warranting an application’: for instance, did the deceased tell them they would inherit property from them one day; did the stepchild provide significant help by looking after them when they were old, or by conserving or improving the deceased’s property? Such factors might create a moral obligation that the deceased would provide for them in their will. 

THIRKELL V COX 2010 provides an example.

A step-child applied for provision from her step-mother’s will. She was eligible to apply because (I) she and her father had lived with the stepmother and (ii) the stepmother had cared for her when she was a child. The factors warranting an application were that the step-daughter had been recognised in the deceased’s will and also that the stepdaughter had provided devoted care to the deceased in her last years. The court ruled that the stepchild’s application was successful and that she would therefore receive modest provision.

Willmakers do have the freedom to decide who will inherit their property but they need to be aware that if they provide insufficiently for eligible people, then courts have the discretion to interfere with their wishes. Willmakers who are considering leaving stepchildren who were dependent on them out of their wills, or instead just providing them with a “nominal” sum, should take advice from a solicitor. They may need to make compromises to avoid a legal challenge.