Do you want to seek financial provision from the estate?
You can challenge a will if you are related to, or dependant on, the will maker (Testator) and have been disinherited, are not a beneficiary of a will, or perhaps have only received very minor provision. This type of claim seeks to prove that the existing lack of provision is unreasonable for you and that you require provision from the estate for your reasonable maintenance – for example, because you are unable to work, or because you are falling more and more into debt each month. Claims of this nature are usually Inheritance Act claims, and there may be as little as 6 months from the Grant of Probate being issued to bring such a claim.
If you believe a lack of financial provision applies to you and you would like to contest a will, please contact us today via our Contact page or leave your details on the form opposite to arrange for us to contact you within 30 minutes. We can help you challenge a will so that you get the financial provision you require.
Do you want to show that the will maker was incapable of making a will?
Sometimes, the state of the Testator’s (will maker’s) mental health is such that they could not possibly make a will in the first place. It could be that the will maker was suffering from dementia or some other impairment of the mind which means that they could not understand the effects of making a will, or of the assets at their disposal, or of the various moral claims to make provision that they should have considered (such as making provision for you!). The will may be invalid if it makes the kind of provision that would not have been made had the will maker not been suffering from the disorder of the mind. If a contested probate case shows that the will is invalid, then the position can revert back to the situation that existed immediately before the will was made – sometimes multiple wills are made invalid in these cases. A previous will may be reactivated, or the laws of intestacy (the laws that dictate what happens to inheritance if there is no will) may apply. It is important for you to understand what will happen if the will is invalid. Before you undertake such a claim, it is important to make sure that you benefit from the result.
If you believe that the will maker was incapable of making a will, and as a result you have been affected, please contact us today via our Contact page or leave your details on the form opposite to arrange for us to contact you within 30 minutes. We can help you challenge and contest an invalid will.
Do you want to enforce a promise that was made to you?
Did the will maker ask you to give them some kind of assistance, to your detriment, in return for a promise that your reward will be provided through the Will? For example, were you asked for regular care services for the rest of their life in return for provision through the will? Did you work in their business, perhaps the family business, for little or no reward, in return for a promise of inheriting the business through the will? Were you asked to provide some financial benefit, or a share in property, in return for an assurance that greater provision would later be made for you through the Will? Did you then discover that the will was never made, or that the provisions are very different to what you had been promised? Even though you provided the assistance or service requested, was the promised reward was not provided to you? If you contest the will, our solicitors can act to ensure that the terms of your bargain and/or promise are upheld, so that you can receive the promised benefit.
If you believe that the promised reward in a will was not provided to you and you would like to contest this, please contact us today via our Contact page or leave your details on the form opposite to arrange for us to contact you within 30 minutes. We can help you challenge a will so that you can receive the benefits you were promised.
Do you want to enforce a promise made to another?
Sometimes, two people decide to combine their assets and bequeath them in a specific way – for example, a husband and wife who have children from previous relationships. Sometimes, they each wish to benefit their own biological children, and worry that their partner might change the bequest if they die. In such cases, they make a promise to honour the agreement to provide for each other’s children in their wills, and promise never to change the will in the future. This is frequently seen when a couple marries later in life. They have each been married before, and they each bring their own assets to the new relationship. They wish to make provision for their own children, and they worry that their partner will cut their children out if they die if they don’t write wills. However, after the first partner dies, we often see that the second partner goes back on the promise and does change the will at the expense of the former’s children. If you have been disinherited in these circumstances, and you challenge the will, our solicitors can act for you to ensure that the terms of the promise are upheld so that you receive what was intended for you and you become a beneficiary of the ‘mutual will’.
If you believe that a ‘mutual will’ needs to be challenged so that the terms of a promise can be upheld, please contact us today via our Contact page or leave your details on the form opposite to arrange for us to contact you within 30 minutes. We can help you challenge a will so that you get what you were promised.
Do you want to show that the will does not reflect the will-maker’s / Testator’s true intentions?
Are you no longer a beneficiary of a will because the will maker was influenced into cutting you out? Have you been disinherited because the will maker was manipulated? If there is evidence that the terms of a will do not reflect the true intentions of the will-maker due to pressure applied by another, then the Will can be made invalid. If you contest probate and dispute the will, our solicitors can fight for you to ensure that the position that existed immediately before the invalid will was made is re-established. In such cases, we need to make sure that you benefit from the previous situation.
If you believe that you were cut out of a will unfairly and you would like to contest this will, please contact us today via our Contact page or leave your details on the form opposite to arrange for us to contact you within 30 minutes. We can help you challenge an invalid will.
Do you want to show that the will is defective?
You can challenge a will if it was never made properly in the first place. There are many reasons why a will might be invalid. For example, it may not have been witnessed properly, or might not have been witnessed at all. It may even be that a witness to the will is also a beneficiary. You could also look at if specific events have caused the whole of, or part of, a perfectly valid will to be revoked. For example, the will maker may have destroyed the will. If the will maker was known to have kept the original will in their possession, and now it cannot be found after his death, it will be presumed that the will has been destroyed. If a person makes a will, and then subsequently marries, the will is usually revoked by the marriage. If a person makes a will and then divorces, then any provision made for the partner is revoked. You should contest probate if you believe that the will being proved invalid, or the will being revoked, would benefit you.
If you believe that there is a will that is invalid and as a result you have been unfairly treated, please contact us today via our Contact page or leave your details on the form opposite to arrange for us to contact you within 30 minutes. We can help you revoke a will.
Do you want to ensure that you receive your existing entitlement?
Are you a beneficiary of a will? Are the executors preventing you from receiving your entitlement? For example, is there a house to be sold but the executors are refusing to sell? In such circumstances our solicitors can help you to enforce the terms of the will, and can help you to have the beneficiaries removed or replaced.
If you believe that a will’s executors are preventing you from receiving what you are rightfully entitled to, please contact us today via our Contact page or leave your details on the form opposite to arrange for us to contact you within 30 minutes. We can help you challenge a will and the executors.