Can I contest a will? It’s a question we’re often asked, and a recent case considered the wider question of who has sufficient ‘interest’ to contest a will. To challenge a will, you must be able to show that you have an ‘interest’ in the estate of the deceased person – usually close relative or someone who has been treated as such. In a recent case, Randall v Randall [2016] […]
What is a typical claim? Every case is different although there are broad similarities between cases. Typically though a claim w ill be one of two types: a claim that the Will is not valid (because there is something wrong with it) or a claim for financial provision from the estate. What things might make a Will invalid (in other words what could be wrong with it to mean that it […]
What is no win no fee? It is a type of contract between the solicitor and the client which means that the solicitor can only charge if the claim is won Does it mean that to win a claim you have to go all the way to a trial and be successful there? No absolutely not. Most of our claims for clients are settled before any court proceedings leading to […]
Here is a point by point summary of what is likely to happen in a typical will dispute where we are claiming against the validity of a will. I will provide details of a will dispute claim involving a claim for financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. 1. Instructions received to contest the validity of a deceased’s will by her son on the grounds […]
1. You must be clear you have a right to claim; for instance there is no right to contest the validity of the Will if you have no interest in the estate once the Will you dispute is declared invalid. Further in a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, you must fall within the category of potential claimants set out in section 1, so that […]
In an ideal world this would happen: 1. Client instructs us to claim against a Will or estate 2. We accept those instructions and proceed to prepare the claim 3. We obtain all the evidence we need including a favourable report from a “friendly” expert 4. We issue Court proceedings and that case runs to a trial 5. We win at trial and recover all of our costs and everyone […]