Probate disputes can swiftly erupt in cases where an Executor has a conflict of interest, is not progressing Probate, and/or keeping secrets regarding the whereabouts of certain assets (and these are merely a few examples).
Discovering that you’ve been left out of a loved one’s will can be incredibly distressing and confusing, leaving you wondering what options you have moving forward. If you find yourself in this situation, know that there are steps you can take to address your concerns and there are potential claims you may have against an estate.
In the absence of a will, the distribution of your estate is governed by the laws of intestacy. Here’s a breakdown of who stands to inherit:
If someone is unfortunate enough to need hospital treatment, then they will often be asked who they want to be regarded as their “Next of Kin”.
A Beneficiary is someone who stands to inherit all or part of an Estate from someone who has died.
We are often contacted by people who claim that a Will is invalid because it was made as a result of “undue influence”. Equally we are often contacted by beneficiaries who claim that a will is valid – and they deny there was any undue influence. So, let’s take a look at the law.
Here at NJS Law, we have a specialist team of solicitors dealing with Inheritance Disputes of one sort or another – and against that background we tend to see all sorts of claims. Sometimes we are asked to make claims and sometimes we are asked to defend claims that have been made by others.
It is important to understand what this question means since there are two different ways to “contest” a Will after a Grant of Probate has been issued by a Probate Registry.
Disputes about the Administration of Estates are, sadly, becoming increasingly common – at any given time we will often have a number of these claims either being pursued or defended by us. Sometimes claims are genuine – but sometimes we defend claims that are brought by over greedy beneficiaries.
The lawyer’s answer is “It Depends”.
There are two basic ways to challenge a Will – the first way is to say that the last Will is invalid – for example because the parent lacked testamentary capacity to make a Will when they made it.
