My mum remarried. She has now passed away and has left everything to my step-dad. I am worried that he will not leave me anything when he dies. Can my step-dad write me out of the Will?
This will depend on the arrangements your mum (or dad, as the case may be) and her spouse have made. They may have made ‘mirror Wills’ or ‘mutual Wills’. Alternatively, they may have simply made their own Wills which have totally different provisions.
If your mum and your step-dad made ‘mirror Wills’, then the surviving spouse can revoke that Will and make a new one. They may not leave you anything under their new Will, and a dispute may rise.
If your mum and your step-dad made ‘mutual Wills’, they make a legal promise not to change their Will unless they both agree to this.
Complex family structures can lead to issues and fallouts when someone dies. These circumstances are very fact-specific. You can contact us for advice and we can advise you whether we think you have a claim.
Related FAQs
The now defunct Guidance for the Tier system suggested that the clinically extremely vulnerable would be treated in the same way as those who were shielding in Lockdown 1. This means that anyone who is clinically extremely vulnerable and cannot work remotely, will be entitled to SSP. These employees should receive a letter confirming that they are deemed to be clinically extremely vulnerable/shielding and you should ask for a copy of it as evidence to support a claim for SSP. It is likely that the Lockdown 3 Guidance will be the same.
You could also furlough an employee in the clinically extremely vulnerable category. Again we do not anticipate this changing.
Failure to comply with the collective inform and consult obligations could impact on the fairness of any dismissals – see next question. In addition, a Tribunal can award a protective award of up to 90 days gross pay for each affected employee. The purpose is intended punish the employer for not complying with the obligations, not to compensate the employee for their individual financial loss.
The vast majority of disputes settle without ever reaching a final hearing with something in the region of 2-5% of all cases actually ending up in court at a final trial. So whilst it is very unlikely you would need to attend a court hearing, it is always a possibility.
A declaration of trust is a legal document which sets out who owns what. It is a document in which one person declares that they hold assets on trust for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries. A declaration of trust is a legally binding document which can be used to formally record the financial arrangements between owners of a particular asset.
A declaration of trust is most commonly used in family disputes in relation to property which has been purchased jointly by a couple, and/or with the financial assistance of someone else, such as a gift/ inheritance from parents. Within the declaration of trust you are able to record who has paid the deposit for a home, and how you would want to split the proceeds of sale in the future if you were to separate. It can provide clarity at what may be a difficult time, and hopefully reduce any disagreements in the future in the event that you separate from your partner and wish to protect your parents’ bequest.
The NHS Test and Trace service is operated by the NHS in England to track and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Where an individual displays symptoms of coronavirus they can be tested to determine whether or not they have the disease. Those with the disease will then be contacted by NHS contact tracers and asked who they have come into close contract with.
Close contact is defined as:
- Face to face (within 1 metre)
- Spent more than 15 minutes within 2 metres of another person
- Travelled in a car or on a plane with another person
The contact tracer will then contact those people with whom the individual has come into close contact and tell them to self-isolate for 14 days.