Blog

Putting a Caveat on progress…

With the Ministry of Justice reporting that the number of Caveat applications made in England and Wales passed the 10,000 mark in 2023, it is clear...

Ways To Challenge a Will - Lack of Testamentary Capacity

A Will is invalid if at the time it is executed the person making it (‘the testator’):

Standish v Standish – Nuance in The Deemed Divorce Cross-check in Inheritance Act Claims

The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 When somebody dies and ‘reasonable financial provision’ is not made for their...

Ways To Challenge a Will - Want of Knowledge and Approval, Rectification and Professional Negligence

A Will is invalid if at the time it is executed the person making it (‘the testator’) does not know: that they are making a Will; or that it will...

Lost Wills: What are the consequences and what can be done?

Inevitably, the process of administering a person’s estate starts very soon after their death. One of the first steps in that process is finding the...

Court finds seven Charitable Gifts as valid Dryden v Young & Others (2024)

Charitable Gifts in Wills Many people look to make provision in their Wills for Charity, for a variety of reasons. Some may wish to benefit a...

Heyes v Holt – Weak Claims, Summary Judgment and Quasi-Security for costs in the alternative

Many probate disputes are genuine. However, quite a lot of claims are weak, and are pursued in the belief that the defendant is bound to settle if...

Estate Administration Disputes (Testate Estates)

Disputes between Executors and the Beneficiaries of Estates have become much more common in recent years. Often, the dispute has its origins in both...

Claims Under The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975

‘As I was banished, I was banished Hereford. But as I come, I come for...my claim To my inheritance’.

An inheritance to kill for?

Whilst the volume of Contentious Probate disputes continues to rise exponentially, thankfully most discontented individuals seek remedy and...

Crime Scene Investigations meets the High Court

Though it does not occur often, sometimes two people die in circumstances which render it difficult, or indeed impossible to determine who died first.

What makes for an “absolutely hopeless” claim against an Estate?

Since 2021, there has been a marked increase in Contentious Probate Claims noted by legal professionals practicing in this sector. It has been...

Forgery and fabrication … when is a signature not their own?

Though it may sound fanciful, legal professionals practicing in Contentious Probate often hear accusations of forged signatures on Wills and similar...

Breach of Trust – What’s the Purpose?

A recent case, Grand View Private Trust Co Ltd & Anor v Wen-Young Wong & Others (Bermuda) (2022) UKPC 47, dealt with by the Privy Council has...

A warning about ‘Asset Protection Trusts’

Are you a former client of McClures Solicitors or Universal Wealth Preservation, and have you set up an ‘Asset Protection Trust’ (also known as a...

Can I deal with a Will challenge without a Solicitor?

In light of the potential legal costs involved in instructing a Solicitor, whether to contest the validity of a Will or in defending such a...

A Trustee’s Right of Remuneration

In the recent Court of Appeal judgment of Da Silva v Hesleton & Ors (2022) EWCA Civ 880, there has been a landmark decision as to the correct...

Predatory marriage and its effects on estates

There has recently been a lot in the news about the apparent rise in what are known as “predatory marriages”, particularly in respect of the effect...

Reading of the Will and Legacies

Where there is any dispute or uncertainty about the meaning of a will, the courts can be asked to decide the point.However, the court’s ability in...

The Missing Will - Cooper v Chapman [2022]

The recent case of Cooper v Chapman (2022) resulted in a somewhat remarkable judgement regarding the validity of a will.

The Golden Rule, Impugned? Hughes v Pritchard

If you have been notified about a challenge to a will relating to an estate in which you have an interest, you may wonder whether you can defend the...

How to contest a will: the process

Disputes regarding wills and estates are increasingly common. This is largely due to more complex family arrangements (i.e. second or later...

Can I defend a will challenge?

If you have been notified about a challenge to a will relating to an estate in which you have an interest, you may wonder whether you can defend the...

What are the costs of contesting a will?

A big consideration for many when they are thinking about how to contest a will or are facing a challenge to the validity of a will, is how much it...

Can I contest a will without a solicitor?

When it comes to the process of contesting a will, there is no legal requirement for a solicitor to be instructed. There is absolutely nothing...

Who can contest a will?

If you have found out about a will having been made in circumstances where you question the validity of the same, an initial question you may ask is,

What are the grounds for contesting a will?

As part of the process of contesting a will, you will need to make sure that you can successfully challenge the validity of the will. The usual...

Wills witnessed by video link to be made legal

In a controversial announcement made by the Government on 25 July 2020, wills witnessed via video link are to be legalised temporarily. As expected,...

Estranged daughter awarded money in Wills dispute

An estranged adult child who, along with her siblings, had been disinherited from benefitting from her late father’s estate worth in the region of...

Supreme Court rules in favour of animal charities in will dispute

In March 2017 the Supreme Court’s ruling in Ilott v The Blue Cross and others (previously known as Ilott v Mitson) was handed down. Despite a number...

Family successfully challenged validity of will

In August 2016, a family won their legal battle to overturn their brother’s will after it was found that the deceased, David Poole, did not know and...