Disputed Wills

If you believe a Will is not valid or is unfair you may be able to contest the Will or bring a claim.

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When should a Will be contested?

If you believe a Will is invalid because it has not been correctly prepared or does not reflect the deceased’s true wishes, you can challenge, or ‘contest’ the Will. The grounds for such include:

  • The Deceased did not understand what they were doing due to lack of capacity or they had capacity but did not understand what the Will actually did
  • The Will was not signed correctly in the presence of two independent witnesses
  • The Deceased was under duress and the Will does not reflect their true wishes
  • The Will is a forgery

If you believe a Will is not valid, our specialist litigation team can help prevent the Will from being administered

When should a claim against the estate be made?

In many cases, the Will is accepted as being valid but it is felt it does not make fair provision for all those that it should.  Such claims are made under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 and will involve considering whether or not the Will has made reasonable provision for the claimant.

 Who can claim?

  • A spouse or civil partner
  • A former spouse or civil partner who has not remarried or entered into a subsequent civil partnership
  • A cohabitee who has lived with the deceased for two years or more immediately prior to the death of the deceased
  • A child of the deceased
  • A person treated as a child of the deceased
  • Any person who was being maintained by the deceased
  • A person who has acted to their detriment in the reasonable expectation that they will be included in the Will.

Timescales

If you would like to bring a claim against an estate, you have six months from the date of the grant of probate in which to do so, our team of litigators are here to help.

Probate and estate administration team

For more information or to book an appointment please contact a member of either our Private Client team or our Dispute Resolution Team on 01543 420000.

Probate & Estate Administration

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