Michael Tringham examines the law relating to inheritance by children
A double intestacy has brought the sole beneficiary’s mother—the co-habiting partner of the deceased’s three-year-old son Rory—into the High Court as both claimant and defendant (as her son’s litigation friend). The case started with Rory’s grandfather, who died intestate in 2009. His £500,000 estate passed to his son Kieran (Rory’s father), who died seven months later, also intestate.
While Rory’s mother Ellen “nobly”, said Mr Justice Norris (Wright & Greenstreet v Gater & Wright [2011] EWHC 2881 (Ch), [2011] All ER (D) 153 (Nov)), made no claim on her late partner’s estate, two consequences of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (s 47) gave her cause for concern:
- A potential £89,000 inheritance tax bill.
- Anxiety should her son receive all the money at his 18th birthday—or if he married or formed a civil partnership before then.
She and her late partner’s brother (Rory’s uncle) sought a variation under which they and a solicitor would hold the estate upon trust for Rory until he was 30. Norris J accepted that if the intestacy rules were
