In the case of Ubbi v Ubbi, the Court has made an award of just over 10% of the estate of Malkiat Singh Ubbi to his two young children, born out of an extra-marital relationship with their mother, Bianca Corrado, who made the claim on their behalf under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975. The children were very young, aged three and six months, and Mr Ubbi had been in the process of getting a divorce when he died. The actual award amounted to £386,000., and Mr Ubbi’s estate was £3,500,000.
“Unfortunately, Mr Ubbi had not updated his will to include any provision for these two young children, and one can only assume that if he had taken this step then he would have made suitable provision for them. As it happened, their mother had to rely on the Court, which undoubtedly will have incurred significant legal fees, entailed considerable delay and caused unnecessary stress for all concerned. It is a matter of conjecture as to whether the award is what Mr Ubbi would have wanted, and it is a real possibility that both the mother and the beneficiaries of Mr Ubbi’s estate are disappointed with the outcome of the court proceedings” says Daniel Prince, Consultant Solicitor at Kirkham Legal, who adds… “Whenever people make Wills we always explain to them that they should keep their wills under review, to take into account life events (which often happen without warning), such as separation, divorce, the birth of children (Grandchildren), bereavement, cohabitation, marriage, retirement and enrichment, when you come into an unexpected windfall such as an inheritance or a lottery win, as these are factors that possibly mean a will should be changed. Wills are relatively inexpensive (especially when compared to the cost of obtaining advice to challenge an estate or a will) to change, but a simple review need not incur any fees at all as all we are asking you to do initially is to re-read your will to ensure that it still meets your requirements. Fees will only be incurred if a client proceeds to change their will.”
If you need any advice on the issues raised in this article, please contact Kirkham Legal on 0161 393 2299
Our Practice Licence Number is 11250.
