Legal News

A landmark decision made by the Court of Appeal on the 15th October means that where a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) includes a success fee then it can be recovered as part of an award under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependants) Act 1975.

The appeal related to the case of Re Hirachand (Deceased) where a claim was brought by the Deceased’s estranged daughter under the Inheritance Act 1975 for the Deceased’s failure to make adequate provision for her.

In the Last Will & Testament of Mr Hirachand, he stipulated that the entirety of his estate was to be bequeathed to his surviving spouse, the Claimant’s mother. The claim was issued by the Claimant as a child of the Deceased and on the basis that she was suffering from longstanding mental health issues which meant that she was unable to work since 2011. The Claimant’s mental health issues were evidenced by a psychiatric report which concluded that she would require weekly psychotherapy for up to three years ‘in order for her to achieve sustained improvement’.

The Claimant’s claim was successful and she was awarded a share of her late father’s estate. The subsequent argument centred on whether the success fee could be factored in the amount awarded to the Claimant. The Court of Appeal upheld the decision made by Justice Cohen that the success fee could indeed be included in the amount awarded. It was stated, inter alia, that ‘in a financial remedy case, outstanding costs which could not otherwise be recovered as a consequence of the ‘no order principle’ are capable of being a debt, the repayment of which is a ‘financial need’ pursuant to s25(2)(b) MCA 1973.

At Duncan Lewis, we deal with many of our Inheritance Act 1975 claims on a CFA basis to afford our clients the opportunity to pursue a claim where otherwise it would have been costs prohibitive to do so. In the Contentious Probate Department, we pride ourselves on assisting our clients and being able to explore other avenues of funding where appropriate to grant our clients access to justice.

The Court of Appeal decision in Re Hirachand (Deceased) provides us with further reassurance as practitioners that in those claims where we act under a CFA with a success fee we can now pursuant to this judgment to recover our client’s success fee together with the overall costs of their matter.


For more information please contact Wills, Probate and Tax director Caroline Roche on 020 3114 1104 or email caroliner@duncanlewis.com




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