This podcast is part of our Family Law Series in which we will be guiding you through the treatment of pensions on divorce and sharing practical information to help you understand your options and the process involved.

A person making an application for financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (“the Act”) should first consider the value of the deceased’s net estate.

The period following the death of a family member is understandably emotional and tensions can be stoked by perceptions of unfair treatment even when the instructions set out in a will are being followed to the letter.

Farming disputes take many forms: a dispute between the partners or family members following a death or the breakdown of a relationship; the dissolution of a partnership; or when a promise of inheritance is broken. The background to a dispute will help to determine the best way of resolving it – and mediation could be the most constructive method, not least as it can go some way to help mend family ructions.

There are several reasons a farmer might consider setting up a joint venture: they may need more resource (monetary, machinery or simply more manpower); it might enable an aspiring farmer to get a foot on the farming ladder (which would otherwise be prohibitively expensive); and a JV can help a family farm to navigate a potentially difficult period such as a death in the family.

One of the criticisms of the old insolvency regime was that a Trustee in Bankruptcy (“the trustee”), who had failed to immediately realise their interest in a bankrupt’s family home, was able to recover this interest several years after the date of discharge of the bankruptcy order.

If you believe that you have unreasonably been left out of a will, you may be able to apply for reasonable financial provision from the deceased estate pursuant to the Inheritance (Provision for Family Independence) Act 1975 (“Inheritance Act”).

It is not unusual for land and property to be held within a trust for the benefit of family members (and is a particularly common arrangement for farming families). Predictably, this arrangement can enter choppy waters when one of the beneficiaries wants – or needs - to sell their share.

A property protection trust will is a will designed to help protect your property from an assessment to long term care fees. The half share of the family home belonging to the first person to die, passes into the trust.

Following the Judgment of Ilott v Mitson & Others handed down on 15 March 2017, this has given rise to a number of legal questions for the profession and has caused those who may have a claim pursuant to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, to ask “what does this mean for me?”