MoJ data on inheritance disputes: our analysis

In September 2018, the Ministry of Justice released statistics that showed there was an 8% decline in the number of disputes issued at court over inheritance in 2017. In 2016, there were 158 High Court cases brought under the Inheritance (Provision for Families and Dependants) Act 1975, which decreased to 145 in 2017.

Despite the overall decline in the number of disputed will cases at court last year, the number of claims managed by JMW Solicitors has more than trebled, increasing by 343% from 2015/16 to 2016/17.

Ian Johnston, solicitor at JMW Solicitors and will dispute specialist, attributes the rise to the growing number of blended families in the UK. He said: “While more people start to blend their families, the first generation of blended families is starting to age, creating the perfect storm for will disputes.

“The number of cohabiting families in the UK is the highest it has ever been and in the last year, there has been an increase in divorces and remarriages. All of these factors make for much more complex family dynamics and provide greater scope for inheritance disputes. Blended families have a larger pool of potential beneficiaries, which increases the risk of someone, or multiple people, feeling left out or not adequately provided for and who may pursue a claim.”

Expert analysis

Last year, the 36% rise in the number of contested wills (from 116 in 2015 to 158 in 2016) was widely attributed to the high profile Ilott vs Mitson case, when the Court of Appeal increased the award from £50,000 to £163,000 in favour of an adult child who had been excluded from their estranged mother’s will. The decision was widely thought to encourage adult children to contest wills, however it was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2017 and the claimant only received the £50,000 initially awarded by the County Court.

Commenting on this, Johnston said: “The Ilott vs Mitson case was highly publicised and would have understandably encouraged people to pursue a claim through the courts if they felt hard done by a person’s will; but it seems that the overturning of the decision last year may have had the opposite effect, possibly deterring people from making a claim.”

However, these statistics may be misleading as they do not take account of the number of matters where parties are able to agree a settlement before issuing court proceedings. Our own increase in matters handled suggests that the statistics may not reflect the true position regarding the number of claims being brought and that, overall, the number of claims being initiated may well still be increasing.