Ashley Blood-Halvorsen acts for the successful applicant in a rare former-spouse inheritance claim

12th January 2026

Ashley Blood-Halvorsen

3PB's contentious probate, chancery and property specialist barrister Ashley Blood-HalvorsenAshley Blood-HalvorsenCall: 2017 (pictured here) acted for the successful applicant in a rare former-spouse, Inheritance Act 1975 claim. Judgment in the case of Kars v Brown and ors [2026] EWHC 31 (Fam) has just been handed down after a two-day trial in front of Deputy High Court Judge Naomi Davey.

Ashley acted for the successful former spouse, Hulya Kars, in an application under the Inheritance Act 1975 with the court ruling that the intestacy rules failed to make reasonable financial provision for the applicant. The case considered, and decided upon, a number of interesting legal and procedural points including:

  • The intestacy rules would produce an unjust outcome and fail to make reasonable financial provision where the deceased died during matrimonial proceedings, leaving the former spouse without a final award or settlement.
  • In a long marriage of 18 years, the fact that the parties spent a considerable period living apart does not preclude a successful Inheritance Act 1975 claim.
  • Disclosure failings in matrimonial finance proceedings can be a relevant fact under section 3(1)(d) being the obligations and responsibilities that her former deceased husband had.
  • The High Court (Family Division) is able to determine disputes as to beneficial interests in real property where this is necessary to identify the net estate for the purposes of an Inheritance Act 1975 claim.
  • It is not an abuse of process to bring an Inheritance Act 1975 application where the net estate may include property that is also the subject of separate county court proceedings concerning a possession claim and a counterclaim for a declaration of beneficial ownership.

To read the full judgment, please click here. Ashley was instructed by Andrew Bishop from specialist private client lawyers Rothley Law.

If you wish to instruct Ashley on any matter, please contact her clerk Sam Collins on [email protected] or by calling him on 0121 289 4333.