Who We Are

Willclaim Solicitors is a marketing website of Inspire Law Limited Solicitors. Inspire Law Limited Solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and have the SRA number 537929.

We are not a claims management company or firm and we do not sell claims or details of claims to third parties. If you are unable to contact us by email, fax or text the please write to the following address:

Inspire Law Limited
5 St John’s Lane
London
EC1M 4BH

www.inspirelaw.co.uk

Inspire Law Limited Solicitors are a litigation and dispute resolution legal practice specialising in particular in contentious Will claims, Will disputes, probate claims and trust claims. More information about these types of claim is provided below and elsewhere on this site (in particular under “claim types”).

You can be reassured that the Solicitor handling your case will be a member or associate member of ACTAPS (“Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists”). This means that he or she has completed the ACTAPS diploma or verified that they have considerable experience in this field. For more information please visit www.actaps.com.

In relation to Will claims and Will disputes the grounds for challenging a Will can include a lack of proper formalities (in general that the Will was not signed by the testator in front of two witnesses who also sign in front of each other), lack of testamentary capacity (the most common ground for disputing or challenging a Will), lack of knowledge and approval and undue influence and fraud. Each of these grounds can serve as a foundation to contest a Will or in relation to any Will claim or Will dispute in general where the validity of the Will is in issue. This type of Will dispute or Will claim is most likely to originate before there has been a grant of probate.

These claims can be made before or after there has been a grant of probate (which is the official seal of approval for the validity of a Will after which the estate can be distributed – although as mentioned the legal validity of the Will can still be challenged after the Grant). However the difficulty with raising such a challenge to a Will following the grant of probate must be clear – there is a danger the Will Executors could start to distribute the estate. Once the estate is distributed, it may be difficult to recover any estate assets, even if you prove that the Will under which the estate has been distributed is invalid. It is then recommended that where a Will claim or contested Will claim is proposed, the person bringing the claim and with an interest in the estate of the deceased, considers entering a Caveat to stop the grant of probate. Please note that if a Caveat is entered legal advice should be sought given the difficult legal consequences that can lead from this step. Guidance in relation to entering a caveat can be found on this site under “claim types” and then “Will Validity”.

These contested Will claims or Will contest claims are also known as probate claims or contested probate claims. Whilst in general they amount to claims against the validity of the Will they can also (see “claim types”) include a claim against the estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (a claim for financial provision by a child, partner or spouse), to rectify a will or to substitute or remove Personal Representatives (executors) where there has or is likely to be some wrong doing in the administration of an estate. There can also be claims for part or all of an estate because of an unfulfilled promise by the deceased which led the Claimant to substantially alter his/her position to their considerable detriment (which are often called “Proprietary Estoppel claims”). Sometimes, all of these claims can be run in conjunction with each other.

For (specialist) information on how all these various types of Will challenges, Will contests, Will claims and probate or contested probate claims are dealt with following the issue of court proceedings, the reader should refer to part 57 of the Civil Procedure Rules, which can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at www.justice.gov.uk.

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I used this firm for a disputed probate claim and the professionalism shown was excellent. Phone calls were responded to, letters and information sent out and I felt the firm were ‘really on my side’. My case was explained to me and communication was clear and responsive and indeed a resolution was obtained quickly. When you are grieving the loss of someone this is important and I truly felt that my feelings were listened to and that I wasn’t just part of a legal machine. Thoroughly recommended.

Ms L – January 2019