Inheritance wars on Albert Square – whose Café is it anyway?

As many Eastenders fans will know, Nish, being a very successful businessman owning multiple businesses including “Nish’s Café”, a telecommunications company, and a property portfolio, has recently been diagnosed with very serious and life limiting heart condition, Myocarditis. He is not expected to live to see Christmas and has re-written his will.

Nish was married to Suki and together they had four children, being Kheerat, Ash, Vinny, Jags and Ravi. Having endured an abusive marriage, Suki filed for divorce and left the marriage with nothing other than the marital home.

After having received the devastating news about his health and the animosity between him, Suki, and their children, Nish passionately declared that he had re-written his will and left his entire estate to the Sikh temple, excluding his ex-wife and children. Moments after his shocking announcement, he sold the Café to the previous owner, Kathy Cotton (nee Beale), for only one pound!

We are going to consider who may have a claim on Nish’s estate, assuming he had testamentary capacity to make the will.

Who, under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (the 1975 Act”) could bring claim against Nish’s estate on his death?

1. Nish’s ex-wife, Suki

Whilst many may believe that an ex-spouse would have no claim on their ex’s estate, this is incorrect. The 1975 Act makes provision for a former spouse or civil partner to pursue a claim for reasonable financial provision from an ex-spouse’s estate even though the marriage has been dissolved and the relationship has ended.

As Suki left the marriage without the businesses or a job, she may have a reasonable claim against Nish’s estate for reasonable financial provision for her maintenance.

Suki would need to show that her income is insufficient to meet her day-to-day living needs, and a Court would expect Suki to disclose details of her finances to evidence her claim.

If Suki was still married to Nish at the time of his death, the Court would have regard to the remedy which Suki might have reasonably received if the marriage had been terminated by divorce, as opposed to Nish’s death. She would therefore have been likely to receive a more generous award.

2. Nish’s children

Nish’s children, Kheerat, Ash, Jags, and Vinny, would be eligible to bring a claim against Nish’s estate by virtue of being his children. They would need to prove that they are in financial need thus require provision from the estate for their maintenance.

Ravi, on the other hand, was adopted by Nish’s friend when he was younger and so Ravi would not be considered to be an eligible claimant under the 1975 Act despite being Nish’s biological son.

3. Nish’s ex-girlfriend, Kat

No doubt, Eastenders fans will remember when Nish manoeuvred himself into Kat Slater’s life, following his divorce and the breakdown of Kat’s relationship with the notorious rogue, Phil Mitchell. Nish provided much-needed financial support to Kat following her breakup and provided her and her children with a place to live and spoiled her with lavish gifts and meals out.

Shortly after their relationship began, cracks began to form, and Nish evicted Kat and her children from the property.

Had the relationship continued and Kat remained living in Nish’s property immediately prior to his death, Kat may have been able to seek financial provision from Nish’s estate on the basis that she was financially reliant on him immediately before his death.

As the financial support most likely ended on their breakup, it would be difficult for Kat to show that she was financially reliant on Nish and that she should be considered to be an eligible claimant.

Unfortunately for Kat, there shall be no funds to gain from her short-lived relationship with Nish.

What about the Café?

After Nish’s dramatic sale of the Café to Kathy Cotton for only one pound, Nish’s family are likely to wonder whether they can challenge this.

This much depends on what Nish’s intentions were when he sold the Café to Kathy. If Nish intended to defeat any 1975 Act claims his family may bring for reasonable financial provision, the Court may order that the value of the Café is brought back into the estate. A Court is likely to make an order on the basis that:

1. The transfer took place less than 6 years before Nish’s death (assuming Nish passes away within the next 6 years); and
2. Kathy did not pay full valuable consideration for the Café.

Nish was a notoriously spiteful man, and it would be reasonable to suggest that he gave the Café away to defeat any claims made by his family.

When should Suki and her children make a claim?

The short answer is that they should seek legal advice as soon as possible following Nish’s death. Their legal representatives will advise them to engage in pre-action correspondence with the Temple’s legal representatives (the Temple being the sole beneficiary of the estate) with a view to avoiding Court proceedings and considering/engaging in alternative dispute resolution.

Nish, by his will, will have named one or more executors to administer his estate on his death and apply for the Grant of Probate. Suki and her children will have 6 months form the date upon which the Grant of Probate is issued to issue a claim under the 1975 Act. If this deadline is missed, they will need to seek permission from the Court to bring a claim out of time, and permission is not always granted.

We would advise Suki and her family to act quickly!