John v John

In John v John, the plaintiff, one of three children, sought an order for provision from his mother’s estate. The estate, of modest value, was left to the three children in equal shares. The plaintiff contended that the provision made was inadequate and sought an increase in his share. The court was required to determine whether the provision was indeed inadequate and, if so, what provision ought to be made. Additionally, the court needed to address whether all executors had to be joined in the proceedings and whether the application could be made out of time.

The court found that the provision made to the plaintiff was inadequate and granted an extension of time under section 16(3) of the Family Provision Act 1982 for the plaintiff's application. The court designated the property as the notional estate and ordered that the plaintiff should receive a legacy equal to five-sixths of the net proceeds of the sale of the property, after deducting the vendor’s costs and the costs of the proceedings incurred by the first defendant as executor on an indemnity basis. The remaining one-sixth of the proceeds was to be distributed to the first defendant. Any property acquired with the notional estate was to be charged with legacies for the remaining beneficiaries. The court concluded that it was not necessary for all executors to be joined in the proceedings, allowing the plaintiff's application to proceed despite this.