Will Disputes & Challenging a Will

Our team are experienced in all types of will disputes and challenging wills.

If you have been left out of a Will or have been treated unfairly in a Will, our team is able to assist.

Will Disputes

Will disputes can cover many different situations relating to a Will or after a loved one has passed. The most common will disputes are generally where the validity of the Will is called into question or when a family member has been left out of a Will or where they have been left an inadequate amount from the estate.

Will disputes inevitably include defending the claims by other people or beneficiaries under the Will as well. Our will dispute lawyers are experienced in both defending and prosecuting will dispute claims.

Will disputes can arise for various reasons including:

being left out of a will
not being left a fair share in a will
the proper interpretation of the will
unreasonable gifts or testamentary trusts
where a will leaves most of the estate to a charity and little or none to family and friends
with second or blended families where the deceased leaves all their estate to a new estate and none or little to children of a previous marriage
questions of the will being invalid due to the mental capacity of the deceased, forgery, undue influence or coercion
concerns that the deceased did not understand that they were signing a will or did not understand the terms or effect of the will

There are numerous other disputes that can arise regarding a will or estate and our will dispute and estate lawyer team are experienced in acting for both applicants and defendants to all type of Will Disputes including defending Wills, making applications to set aside a Will or making a family provision claim.

Get in contact with us now to discuss your will dispute today.

Challenging a Will – Family Provision Claim

The law allows certain people to challenge a will with a family provision claim if they have been left out of the will or have no received an adequate gift under the will. The Succession Act 2006 – Chapter 3 sets out the list of people who may make a claim against the estate or will and circumstances in which they can make the claim.

More information on family provision claims can be found at Challenging a Will – Family Provision Claims.

Challenging a Will – Invalid Wills

There are several instances in which the Will can be challenged on the basis that it is not a valid will:

where the willmaker did not have testamentary capacity to understand what they were doing when they made the will.
where the willmaker did not know the contents of the will and therefore did not know and approved the will
where the intentions of the willmaker are unclear in the will
where the will has been forged or was created by fraud
where someone coerced the willmaker to make the will or the will was created by the undue influence of another person
where the will has been changed after the willmaker signed
where the will has been replaced by another will or document and therefore has been revoked by the willmaker

More information on will disputes relating to invalid wills can be found at Challenging a Will – Invalid Will.