Wiltshire v Wiltshire and 2 Ors

The case of Wiltshire v Wiltshire and 2 Ors involved a widow, the applicant, seeking family provision from the estate of her deceased husband. The deceased had left his estate to his children from a previous marriage, with only a life estate provided to the widow. The widow argued that the estate should be distributed in a manner that provided for her reasonable needs, as per the Family Provision Act. The court was required to determine whether the distribution of the estate was just and equitable under the Act.

The primary legal issue was whether the court should intervene to provide for the widow's reasonable financial needs, given the deceased's clear intention to benefit his children from a previous marriage. The court considered the statutory criteria under the Family Provision Act, including the nature of the relationship between the parties, the extent to which the deceased had provided for the applicant during the marriage, and the extent to which the applicant had provided for the deceased during the marriage. The court also needed to weigh the deceased's intentions against the applicant's needs.

The court found that while the deceased had clearly intended to benefit his children from a previous marriage, the widow had enjoyed a long and stable marriage with the deceased and had made significant contributions to the relationship. The court concluded that the distribution of the estate was not just and equitable and ordered that the widow's reasonable needs be provided for from the estate. The court made an order that the widow receive a life estate in a portion of the deceased's property and a lump sum payment to meet her reasonable needs. The court also noted that while the deceased's intentions were clear, they were not decisive in the face of the widow's reasonable needs.