Divorce, Remarriage and Inheritance
Q1 Best Answer: A
Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, a former spouse and children of the deceased may be eligible applicants. However, eligibility to apply does not mean a claim will succeed.
The ex-wife divorced the deceased 12 years ago and is planning to remarry. The adult children are financially independent. On these facts, none appears to have a strong claim for financial provision, especially where the deceased has left everything to his surviving spouse.
Why the other answers are wrong:
B. Incorrect. The ex-wife may apply, but there is nothing to suggest she has a strong claim.
C. Incorrect. Adult children can apply, but financially independent adult children generally face difficulties in establishing a successful claim.
D. Incorrect. Former spouses and adult children can still be eligible applicants under the Act.
E. Incorrect. Financial dependence is not required for a former spouse or child to be eligible to apply.
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Q2 Best Answer: C
Divorce generally treats any gift to a former spouse as if that spouse had died before the testator. As a result, the gift to the ex-wife fails. The subsequent marriage does not automatically substitute the new wife into the will. As the will contains no effective gift of the estate after the divorce, the estate passes under the intestacy rules.
Under the intestacy rules, the surviving spouse and the deceased’s child are entitled to inherit.
Why the other answers are wrong:
A. Incorrect. The divorce prevents the ex-wife from taking under the will.
B. Incorrect. The new wife does not inherit simply because she was married to the deceased when he died.
D. Incorrect. The child does not automatically inherit the entire estate where there is a surviving spouse.
E. Incorrect. A new spouse does not automatically replace a former spouse as beneficiary under an existing will.
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