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15 October 2009 / Emily Campbell
Issue: 7389 / Categories: Features , Tax , Family
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Baynes v Hedger & anor: a lesson for charities?

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Emily Campbell highlights potential pitfalls in processing inheritance claims

Charities are often in the position of defending claims by alleged dependants, brought in respect of the estate of a deceased in which charity is interested.

These claims are made under the provisions of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (I(PFD)A 1975). For this reason, charities will find the recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Baynes v Hedger & anor [2009] EWCA Civ 374, [2009] 2 FLR 767 affirming [2008] EWHC 1587 (Ch), [2008] 2 FLR 1805 of particular interest.

This article considers claims brought by alleged dependants under I(PFD)A 1975 following that decision, with an emphasis on points of interest to charities.

The facts of the case are unusual. The scene was set in an English country house, Dunshay Manor in Dorset. The deceased was a well-known sculptress, Mary Spencer Watson, whose father had been a portrait painter and Fellow of the Royal Academy and whose mother had been a mime artist.

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