Q&As

To what extent can an executor sell estate properties and collect in the rest of the estate assets if they are put on notice of a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975?

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Produced in partnership with Emma Holland of Stewarts Law
Published on: 22 May 2025

It is assumed that the properties in question are not subject to either a joint tenancy (given that otherwise they would pass outside of the estate automatically by virtue of the right of survivorship) or other restrictions contained within the deceased’s Will (which may be likely if the properties are owned jointly as tenants in common).

Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (I(PFD)A 1975), an application for a claim must be made within six months from the date of the grant of probate. During this period, and ideally for four months after to allow for the subsequent service of proceedings, an executor should not distribute the estate. This Q&A refers to this ten-month period as the ‘limitation period’. (It is worth noting that if a person has a claim under I(PFD)A 1975, it is generally not

Emma Holland
Emma Holland

Stewarts Law

Emma assists beneficiaries, trustees, and other fiduciaries with trust disputes both onshore and in numerous offshore jurisdictions. Emma also specialises in probate disputes, and disputes overseen by the Court of Protection. Emma has been recognised as a Next Generation Lawyer (Legal 500 2018) and as a Top 35 Under 35 private client practitioner (eprivateclient 2016). Notable examples of work include advising (often alongside foreign law counsel): - discretionary beneficiaries of Bermudian trusts holding a construction business on family corporate governance, applications for approval of restructuring proposals and contentious tax. A Public Trustee v Cooper hearing took place in 2017 (Re X,Y,Z Trusts [2017] Sc (Bda) III Civ). - a beneficiary opposed to a trustee's proposal to sell a key trust asset, involving a jurisdiction challenge in Jersey (Representation of G Trustees Limited [2017] JRC 162A) and a trustee removal application in Bermuda (In the Matter of the E Trust [2017] SC (Bda) 103 Civ). - beneficiaries regarding the removal of a protector (In the matter of the K Trust, Guernsey Judgment 31/2015). - trustees in defending allegations of breach of trust through material non-disclosure (AB Jnr & Or v MB & Ors [2013] (1) CILR 1). - on jurisdiction relating to a succession dispute focusing on the friction between English testamentary freedom and Italian forced heirship rules (Durham v Lambton & Ors [2013] EWhC 3566 (Ch)). - on a contested health and welfare, and property and affairs, deputyship application, including the Local Authority's application relating to deprivation of liberty.

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

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