Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, individuals in specific relationships with a deceased person can challenge a will if it fails to make "reasonable financial provision" for their maintenance.
Philippa Hart would qualify to file an application as an unmarried partner who lived in the same household as the deceased for at least two years prior to death. Tom and Will Gambon, as his children, qualify automatically under the statute.
To mount a successful claim, however, a claimant must prove to the Chancery Division of the High Court that they were left without adequate maintenance. If Sir Michael Gambon made separate provisions for Hart and their sons via residential equity transfers, trust funds, life insurance policies, or educational investments, a court challenge would have little standing.
Hart has filed no public litigation against the estate. The absence of legal filings indicates that her family's financial needs were addressed quietly, outside the probate system, avoiding a protracted legal contest with Lady Anne and Fergus.
