Until recently, it didn’t appear to be possible for a Court to force both parties in a Will dispute or Will contest claim to engage in so-called “alternative dispute resolution”. So what you might think? Surely a trial would be the best form of resolution anyway and what in any event is “alternative dispute resolution”? If you are content to let a Judge decide your Will dispute or Will contest […]
Whilst securing your lawyer to deal with your will dispute or will contest claim under a no win no fee arrangement might tempt you to go “gung ho” towards a trial, it should not be your first thought. A greater understanding of the costs and risks involved in a trial should help to temper this. For instance, it is not unusual for each party to accumulate costs well in excess […]
WILL CONTEST CLAIM – TEN STEPS TO CONSIDER TO SECURE OUR NO WIN NO FEE ASSISTANCE (BUT NOTE IF THIS INFORMATION IS NOT AVAILABLE OR ONLY PARTLY SO, WE MIGHT STILL BE ABLE TO HELP YOU SO PLEASE DO ASK!) SECURING NO WIN NO FEE ASSISTANCE IN A WILL DISPUTE CLAIM It is not unfortunately a given that in every Will dispute or Will contest case, one of our lawyers […]
WILL CONTEST CLAIM – RELYING ON UNDUE INFLUENCE IN A WILL DISPUTE 1. In the case of Seager v De Jong (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7132053/Award-winning-table-tennis-coach-locked-2million-inheritance-battle-aunts-neighbour.html) a dispute arose over a wealthy widows’ (Ada Richards) 1.5 million pound plus estate. She wrote a Will in May 2010, a year before she died, leaving it in its entirety to a close neighbour, Mr De Jong. He had become her main carer and had even moved […]
WILL CONTEST CLAIM – RELYING ON THE CONCEPT OF “MUTUAL WILLS” AND A CLAIM FOR FINANCIAL PROVISION UNDER SECTION 2 OF THE INHERITANCE (PROVISION FOR FAMILY AND DEPENDANTS) ACT 1975 1. In this instance we were approached by a potential client who was the deceased’s only child and whose elderly mother had prepared a succession of Wills in her later years completely disinheriting her. It would appear that in this […]
WILL CONTEST CLAIM – WHAT FOLLOWS IS OUR SYNOPSIS OF A REAL CLAIM 1. In this instance we were approached by a potential client whose existing Solicitors had refused to carry out any further work for him. They had been instructed under a no win no fee agreement. They claimed that he hadn’t told them the truth about his financial circumstances and previous history, matters which he disputed. 2. His […]
WILL CONTEST CLAIMS – THE DANGERS OF A TRIAL We have reported on the dangers of a trial in a Will contest claim in relation to claims for financial provision under section under section 2 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 – see https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/63). Our blog on the subject appears at: https://www.willclaim.com/how-to-contest-a-will-the-dangers-of-a-trial-in-an-adult-childs-claim-under-the-inheritance-provision-for-family-and-dependants-act-1975/ WILL CONTEST CLAIMS – WHY IS A TRIAL DANGEROUS? As we previously mentioned, there […]
WILL CONTEST CLAIMS – HOW CAN A PROMISE OVERRIDE THE WISHES OF THE DECEASED BY HIS WILL? A promise by the deceased to leave his or her land to someone other than the person who is named to receive it by his/her Will, can override that by “giving” that person ownership of the land without an actual transfer having taken place before death. The Will only takes effect on death […]
WILL DISPUTE – THE DANGERS OF A TRIAL We have previously highlighted the dangers of a trial in a claim under section 2 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 – see https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/63). This was recently brought into stark relief in Wellesley v Wellesley & Ors (2019) EWHC 11 (Ch). Jamie Randall of Serle Court Chambers provides an invaluable commentary at: http://www.serlecourt.co.uk/news/article/jamie-randall-discusses-the-recent-judgment-handed-down-in-wellesley-v-wellesley-ors-2019-ewhc-11-ch Suffice to say, the adult […]
WILL DISPUTE – OUR NO WIN NO FEE ARRANGEMENTS We have explained in our previous blog that we are prepared to work under a no win no fee arrangement in relation to claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 – see https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/63). One page within our website (which also contains a helpful video) provides more detail at https://www.willclaim.com/no-win-no-fee/. WILL DISPUTE – WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF YOU […]
DISPUTING A WILL – IF A COUPLE HAVE MIRROR WILLS DOESN’T THAT MEAN THEY CANNOT BE CHANGED? Firstly, what is a mirror Will? Put simply it arises when a couple, usually a married couple, have prepared Wills (usually at the same time) where each separate Will is a reflection of the other. A typical example might be a Will prepared by the wife, leaving the entirety of her estate to […]
DISPUTING A WILL – WORKING UNDER A NO WIN NO FEE ARRANGEMENT, WHAT DOES IT MEAN? We have already described that we are prepared to work under a no win no fee arrangement to dispute or claim against the legal validity of a Will (but also in relation to claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 – see https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/63). Our page (which also contains a helpful […]
DISPUTING A WILL – IS IT POSSIBLE TO BRING A CLAIM OUT OF TIME? Firstly is there a time limit? The answer is no in relation to a claim against the legal validity of a Will (eg. a Will contest claim that the Will isn’t valid because it wasn’t signed by the person making the Will in front of two witnesses who also signed, because he or she didn’t understand […]
WHAT HAPPENS IF SOMEONE MAKES A COMPLETELY UNMERITORIOUS CLAIM AGAINST THE LEGAL VALIDITY OF A WILL If such a claim is made (that a Will is invalid) and either no grounds to support such a claim are provided or those that are have no foundation in law or are entirely without merit, then typically a Caveat might have been entered to prevent the lawful administration of the estate whilst the […]
HOW TO CONTEST A WILL – DOES A RICH BROTHER DESERVE A SHARE OF WILL? As reported in The Times (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/our-rich-brother-doesnt-deserve-equal-share-of-will-say-sisters-dlrhwl9vf) two sisters considered their rich brother didn’t deserve a share of their late mother’s estate which was worth 1.5m. Their mother had split the estate equally but according to The Times article he should have been entitled to less than the third he had been left as “he is […]
HOW TO CONTEST A WILL – HOW THE ADULT CHILD CAN BRING A CLAIM FOR FINANCIAL PROVISION UNDER THE INHERITANCE (PROVISION FOR FAMILY AND DEPENDANTS) ACT 1975 In my previous Blog on this topic, I described that there are limited grounds to dispute or contest the validity of a Will and how an adult child can do it by bringing a claim for financial provision from his or her parent’s […]
HOW TO CONTEST A WILL – HOW HARD IS IT FOR AN ADULT CHILD TO BRING A CLAIM FOR FINANCIAL PROVISION UNDER THE INHERITANCE (PROVISION FOR FAMILY AND DEPENDANTS) ACT 1975 There are limited grounds to dispute or contest the validity of a Will. By far the most common is a claim by an adult child for financial provision from his or her parent’s estate, pursuant to section 2 of […]
HOW TO CONTEST A WILL – THE CAPACITY REQUIRED TO MAKE ONE There are limited grounds to dispute or contest the validity of a Will. By far the most common (which is usually the easiest to prove), is that the person making the Will (called the “testator”) lacked sufficient mental capacity to do so. Dispelling the myths We are often told that a particular individual cannot have had sufficient mental […]
This unfortunate case is reported in The Times and a number of papers. An earl’s daughter who “hated” her family’s aristocratic lifestyle has lost her attempt at claiming a larger share of his £1.3m fortune (she appears to have been left only £20,000 by his Will and she might well have lost that to legal costs as well). https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/earl-s-wild-child-daughter-lady-tara-wellesley-loses-claim-to-share-of-1-3m-fortune-d5k02hhl8 In The Times report a number of facts are mentioned which […]
1. DO YOU WORK ON EVERY SINGLE WILL DISPUTE CASE WHICH IS REFERRED TO YOU? We will only work on a will dispute and will contest case where we think we can win it. This means that the no win no fee arrangement in will dispute and will contest claims operates as a natural filter to ensure that our clients do not waste time in dealing with a contest over […]