Ilott (Respondent) v The Blue Cross and others (Appellants) 

[2017] UKSC 17
UKSC 2015/0203
Ilott (Respondent) v The Blue Cross and others (Appellants)
On appeal from the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) (England and Wales)
Mrs Jackson died in 2004. By her will, she left the majority of her estate valued at £486,000 to three charities (the appellants). The will made no provision for Mrs Jackson's only child, Mrs Ilott (the respondent). Mother and daughter had become estranged many years before and their attempts at reconciliation had failed. Mrs Ilott made an application under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for reasonable financial provision from her late mother's estate. In 2007, DJ Million made an award in Mrs Ilott's favour of £50,000. Mrs Ilott appealed against the amount of this award. In July 2015, the Court of Appeal allowed Mrs Ilott's appeal, setting aside DJ Million's award and substituting its own award of (a) £143,000, to enable Mrs Ilott to purchase her housing association home, (b) the reasonable costs of the purchase, and (c) payments up to a maximum of £20,000 structured in a way that would allow Mrs Ilott to preserve her state benefits. The charities appealed to the Supreme Court. The legal issue was whether the Court of Appeal erred in its application of the law under the 1975 Act.
The Supreme Court unanimously allows the charities’ appeals.