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My sister has passed away. She separated from her husband years ago although they never got divorced, so they are technically still married. My sister never made a Will. Will her husband inherit her estate?

My sister has passed away. She separated from her husband years ago although they never got divorced, so they are technically still married. My sister never made a Will. Will her husband inherit her estate?

Related FAQs

When will I receive a grant under this scheme?

The Chancellor confirmed that payments under the scheme would not be available immediately.

My ex-husband has died and I was receiving maintenance payments from him. He hasn’t left me anything in their Will. What can I do?

You may be able to make a claim against your ex-spouse’s estate on the basis that their Will does not make ‘reasonable financial provision’ for you. You will not be able to bring a claim if you have remarried, or if a condition of your divorce explicitly states that you will not make a claim against their estate.

These types of claims are very fact-specific so it is not possible to give a straightforward yes or no answer as to whether any such claim is available to you.  The court will consider all factors which we can explore with you in more detail.

What if the contractor is supplied by an agency?

As mentioned earlier, if an agency is involved you must send them a copy of the status determination statement for each contractor, and they will also have the right to dispute the outcome.

If the agency pays the contractor, they will be responsible for the operation of PAYE and NIC’s deductions and any apprenticeship levy. The agency may try to recover these costs from the end user client.

If workers are supplied by an agency or umbrella company and are already treated as employees by the agency, they will remain unaffected by IR35.

Do you have to collectively consult for the minimum period of time before you can issue notice?

These periods are often mistakenly referred to as minimum lengths of consultation (especially by Trade Unions). That is not correct. Consultation can commence, conclude and notices of dismissal be issued within the 30 and 45 day periods. The expiry of the notice would just have to be outside of those restricted periods.

How do I go about registering a death at this time?

The Government has introduced legislation to expand the list of those who can register deaths to include Funeral Directors who are dealing with the funeral arrangements and who has been authorised by a relative of the deceased to register the death. Also, the medical cause of death certificate can be emailed to the Registrar’s office and arrangements made to have a telephone appointment to provide the Registrar with information to register the death. The requirement to attend the Registrar in person to sign the Register has been relaxed so that this is not necessary. It will however still be necessary to register the death within 5 days.