How the 1975 Act lets the court override a will or the intestacy rules where the deceased failed to make reasonable financial provision for family and dependants.
Testamentary freedom in England and Wales has a statutory check, and this chapter explains how it operates. It begins with the Act's purpose and the threshold requirements every claim must satisfy, then works through the six categories of eligible applicant, from spouses and cohabitants to those maintained by the deceased. From there it examines the two standards of provision, the section 3 factors the court must weigh and the divorce cross-check, before covering the six-month time limit and the range of orders available. It closes with the net estate against which orders bite — including joint property and the anti-avoidance provisions — and the protection available to personal representatives who distribute after the claim window has passed.
