Permission to appeal decision in a case relating to an inheritance dispute
1 March 2016
Ilott (Respondent) v The Blue Cross and others (Appellants) UKSC 2015/0203
On appeal from the Court of Appeal Civil Division (England and Wales)
The Supreme Court has granted Blue Cross and others permission to appeal in a case relating to an inheritance dispute.
The majority of the deceased estate was left to three charities (the appellants) in a will. The will made no provision for the deceased's only child, Mrs Ilott (the respondent) after the mother and daughter had become estranged many years before and their attempts at reconciliation had failed. Mrs Ilott made an application under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for reasonable financial provision from her late mother's estate and was awarded a sum at the Court of Appeal to enable Mrs Ilott to purchase her housing association home, (b) the reasonable costs of the purchase, and (c) payments up to a maximum of £20,000 structured in a way that would allow Mrs Ilott to preserve her state benefits. The charities now appeal to the Supreme Court.
The issues at stake in this appeal relate to whether the Court of Appeal was wrong to set aside the award made at first instance on the respondent's claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. Further whether the Court of Appeal erred in its approach to the "maintenance" standard under the 1975 Act or was wrong to structure an award under the 1975 Act in a way which allowed the respondent the preserve her entitlement to state benefits.
The Court of Appeal judgment being appealed is available here: