Contentious Probate

We can help you deal with any of the following Contentious Probate issues:-

  • Inheritance Act claims

  • Claims where a Will has not been signed or witnessed correctly

  • Claims regarding lack of mental capacity by person making a Will

  • Disputes over identification of beneficiaries

  • Claims for and against Executors

Our specialised and personal service provides you with everything you need for Contentious Probate issues and to obtain the best result from enforcing your inheritance rights. We are friendly and easy to contact and always remain fully focused on obtaining the best result for you. We are prepared to assist on a “no win, no fee” basis. Once you receive your money from the Estate, we then recover our fees directly from the Estate so there is no financial risk to you.

Contentious Probate - Inheritance Act Claims

Under the Law of England and Wales, inheritance claims can be brought by individuals connected to a deceased on the ground that inadequate financial provision has been made for them. In order to claim, you must have had one of the following relationships:-

  • Spouse

  • Co-habitee of more than two years

  • Same sex partner

  • Former (divorced) spouse or former co-habitee who has not remarried

  • Child of the deceased

  • Treated as a child of the deceased (by way of deceased’s marriage)

  • Person partly or entirely maintained by the deceased immediately before the deceased’s death

Contentious Probate claims can be complex and specialised legal advice will help to explain your legal rights including quantifying your needs, examining the needs of other beneficiaries when compared with the size and nature of the Estate.

Claims Relating To Validity Of A Will

A Will can be challenged on a variety of legal grounds including

  • Technicalities – sometimes a Will is incorrectly prepared or witnessed. Where this happens the Will is usually totally invalid and the Estate would be administered as if there was no Will in existence.

  • Lack of capacity – sometimes people make a Will and they do not have the mental capacity to make it. This can happen with elderly people and persons either taking heavy prescription medication or having substance abuse problems The person preparing the Will may not recognise this lack of capacity or suspect anything untoward and the issue may only come to light after the person who has made the Will has died.

  • Lack of knowledge and approval – sometimes it can be the case that a person making a Will does not know or understand the nature of the document that has been signed. This can particularly be the case if, for example, a person cannot read or who was not wearing their essential spectacles at the time signs a Will that they do not understand.

  • Undue influence – sometimes family members put undue pressure on or even actually threaten someone who makes a Will to provide favourably for them in the document. A Will can be set aside on this ground.

  • Devastavit – This is a legal expression which literally means “waste” – a claim in devastavit is made against the executor or the administrator of an estate who has inappropriately allowed the assets of an estate to diminish by neglect, maladministration, abuse or other negligence. In these circumstances, the executor or administrator of the estate can be personally liable to disappointed beneficiaries.