Why people make Family Provision Applications
When a person dies, the things they own are given to others. Their things are known as their estate.
What happens to their estate depends on whether they have a Will or not.
If they:
- made a Will, it sets out their wishes for their estate.
- died without a Will, the law decides who receives their estate.
In both cases, some people may disagree with what happens with the estate because they:
- were not left anything from the estate
- believe they should receive more.
When this happens, certain people can apply to the Court to change what the Will says or what the law would otherwise decide.
This process is called a Family Provision Application.
How the Court decides
The Court will consider what the applicant needs for their support and maintenance. They can consider if the whether the applicant should receive more money for:.
- unexpected costs
- education
- rent
- travel
- medical treatment or care.
The Court will also consider:
- the applicant's age, health, and any disabilities
- the applicant's financial circumstances
- what the deceased may have wanted
- the relationship between the applicant and the deceased
- the needs of other people who may receive something from the estate.
When making their decision, the Court can also take this into account whether everyone agrees on what should happen to the estate.
Who can apply
The following people can apply.
A spouse of the deceased person, which includes those who where:
- married
- a civil partner
- a de facto partner, which means living together as a couple for at least 2 years when they died.
A child of the deceased person, including their:
- biological child
- stepchild
- adopted child.
A dependant of the deceased person, who was receiving financial support from the deceased and were:
- a parent of that deceased person
- the parent of a child of that deceased person
- under the age of 18 years.
If you are the parent of a child of the deceased person, the child must be under 18 and alive when the other parent died.
Application timeframes
You must:
- give notice of your intention to apply within 6 months of the person’s death
- then make your application within 9 months of the person’s death.
If you miss these timeframes, the Court might not consider your application.
If you need help or have questions, contact one of our support team members.