Q&As

A former spouse received maintenance from the deceased under a financial order that included a clean break provision in relation to claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (I(PFD)A 1975). Could they make a claim under I(PFD)A 1975 against the deceased’s estate as someone being maintained by the deceased immediately before their death rather than as a former spouse?

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Produced in partnership with Lynne Counsell of Addington Chambers
Published on: 02 January 2019
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The categories of applicant

Section 1 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (I(PFD)A 1975) specifies the categories of people who are entitled to apply under I(PFD)A 1975 on the basis they have not received reasonable financial provision from the estate. These are:

  1. •

    a spouse or civil partner

  2. •

    a former spouse or civil partner who has not remarried or entered into a civil partnership

  3. •

    a cohabitant, defined in I(PFD)A 1975, ss 1(1A) and 1(1B) as someone who was living with the deceased as a spouse or civil partner for at least two years immediately prior to the death

  4. •

    a child of the deceased

  5. •

    a person treated by the

Lynne Counsell
Lynne Counsell

Barrister, Addington Chambers

Lynne has been in traditional Chancery practice for some thirty years, specialising in probate matters, construction of wills and trusts and also financial services and drafting.

Lynne was for some years counsel for Tower Hamlets, representing them on landlord and tenant cases and counsel for Bedford Building Society representing it on mortgage cases.

Lynne has written or updated over fifty books, including writing the initial volume of Atkin’s Court Forms “Financial Services” and updating Halsbury’s Laws on Injunctions. Lynne was also co-author of two editions of “Insider Trading” and co-editor and one of the writers of “Chancery Practice and Procedure.”

Articles include “Marketing of Investments” for the Law Society Gazette and “The Doctrine of Mutual Wills” for the Trust Quarterly Review. Lynne won one of the few cases on mutual wills in the last fifty years – Charles v Fraser (2010).

Lynne has drafted the standard unit trust for the government of Nigeria, the rules and related documentation for various building societies and clubs, shareholder agreements, company takeovers compliance documentation for certain banks as well as wills and trusts.

Lynne was awarded the 2017 Corporate international Magazine Global Award – “Investment Contracts Barrister of the Year in England”.

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Related legal acts:
Key definition:
Maintenance definition
What does Maintenance mean?

Payments made to a spouse or civil partner or a former spouse or civil partner for themselves or for a child of the family.

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