Last updated on August 18th, 2015 at 10:23 am

However, this freedom of choice is restricted somewhat by the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975, which allows certain people to be able to contest our wills (or make a claim against them) if they believe they have not been properly provided for in the will – or under the provision of intestacy if there is no will.  These people are:

• The spouse or civil partner of the deceased
• A former spouse or civil partner of the deceased who has not remarried
• A child of the deceased
• Any person (not being a child of the deceased) who, in the case of any marriage or civil partnership to which the deceased was at any time a party, was treated by the deceased as a child of the family in relation to that marriage or civil partnership
• Any person (not included in those above) who immediately before the death of the deceased was being maintained, either wholly or partly, by the deceased
• Any person cohabiting with the deceased for the period of two years immediately prior to the death of the deceased who was living with them as the spouse or civil partner of the deceased

There are many cases regarding the contesting of wills and most cases are brought by spouses, cohabitees or minor children, who have not inheriting assets and feel wronged.  Most of the cases are complex and there have been some fairly high profile ones such as Anna Nicole Smith, Frank Sinatra, Richard Burton and even Elvis Presley! However it is the recent, fairly low profile case of Mrs Illot that has somewhat shocked the profession.

Mrs Ilott’s mother, Melita Jackson, died aged 70 in 2004 with an estate worth £486,000.  Over the years mother and daughter had many disagreements and when she died Mrs Jackson left her estate to a group of charities.  She also left a letter of wishes with the will stating that her daughter was not to inherit anything as she had hardly seen her in 24 years, she was not financially dependent on her and she had made it clear to her daughter that she would inherit nothing.

Despite the letter Mrs Ilott contested the will. In the first hearing in 2007, saying  that it was unreasonable that the will made “no provision at all… in circumstances where she is in some financial need”, a district judge awarded Mrs Ilott a sum of £50,000, apparently on the grounds that she was living on benefits and she had five children.

However this wasn’t enough for Mrs Ilott, who appealed against the ruling as she wanted more money.  The charities who had inherited the money then cross-appealed on the grounds that she should get nothing.  It took until 2009 before the appeals were heard, at which time the judge found in favour of the charities, leaving Mrs Ilott with nothing.  He said that the original district judge had erred in law and had not followed the criteria in the act.

Mrs Ilott has been allowed to appeal again, this time to the Court of Appeal and we await the outcome with great interest.

The charities involved have criticised the decision saying that “it set a dangerous precedent where anyone could choose to appeal against the will of a close family member on the grounds of their own financial situation, regardless of the documented wishes of the deceased”.

As with all contested wills, this case highlights the importance of having a properly drawn up will in order to ensure, as best as possible, that the wishes within it are followed.  The benefits of using a professional, qualified and regulated will writer with expertise in advising on a wide range of inheritance issues cannot be emphasised enough.