Inheritance is one of the most tricky legal situations most people will find themselves in. While dealing with the sad death of a loved one, you’re suddenly thrust into a world of solicitors, legal documents and sometimes large sums of money and the family disputes that can flare up as a result.
That’s why there’s an urban myth in the UK about the ‘£1 rule’ and how you can use it to effectively cut people out of your will if you don’t really want to leave them any money as inheritance.
While it’s not officially enshrined in law, the idea is that by leaving someone just £1 in your will, it makes it much harder for that person to challenge your estate after you’re gone and claim you forgot about them.
This is because, although people in the UK are free to leave whatever they want to whomever they want – there’s no ‘forced heirship’ to children or grandchildren, for example – many who have been completely left out of a will may look to challenge its legality on the basis that the will writer must have missed them off by accident.
Therefore, £1 shows that you did remember them, you just didn’t want to give them anything, which makes it much harder to challenge, or so the theory goes.
According to Roche Legal: “This is partially true, because here in England and Wales, we have the freedom to dispose of our assets in any way we choose in our Wills. Unlike many other countries, we don’t have any ‘forced heirship’ rules governing who must receive what after someone has died. You can therefore make a Will leaving your property and other assets (called your estate) to any person, charity or other organisation you wish to.
“However, there is a law called the Inheritance (Provisions for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (the IPFDA) which limits this freedom to some degree and gives specific people the right to challenge your Will, if they feel disappointed because they haven’t received anything, or because they believe they should have received more. Interestingly, this applies both in cases where there is a Will, or where there is no Will so that the Intestacy Rules apply.
“Whether or not their claim is successful will depend entirely on the specific circumstances. The Court will consider various points, including: why you left the person out (or didn’t leave them as much as they wanted); what their relationship is to you; their financial position and the financial position of anyone else that the Court’s decision will effect; the size and nature of your estate; whether or not the Claimant or any other person that the Court’s decision will effect has any physical or mental disability; whether you had any moral obligation to leave something (or more) to the person bringing the claim.”
