Disputes over Wills & Estates
What is a dispute?
There are a number of ways a dispute over a Will can arise, these include testamentary incapacity, undue influence, invalid execution of a Will, lack of knowledge and approval of the contents of a Will, and fraud.
The distribution of the estate, be it through a Will or under the Rules of Intestacy in the absence of a Will, can also be challenged if a person feels they were not reasonably provided for from the estate. This is limited to certain categories of persons, such as spouses, civil partners, cohabitees, children and financial dependants of the deceased depending on the circumstances.
How can we help?
We always aim to achieve settlement out of court so as to minimise the costs but where this is not possible, we will guide you through the complicated litigation process from beginning to end. We also offer you specialist advice on the process and procedure involved and, uniquely, represent clients at court ourselves, where we can, to maintain consistency of care, but where this is not possible, we will instruct a barrister to do so instead.
We have experience of dealing with all manner of disputes, including those in relation to Wills; disputes by Executors, Trustees, beneficiaries, together with those individuals who expect to inherit under the Will together with those that don’t, under the rules of Intestacy.
There are strict time limits involved with contentious probate claims and therefore it is important that you seek specialist legal advice at the earliest opportunity.
We can also help you if you have a dispute over a Trust or in relation to mismanagement and/or financial abuse/fraudulent Claims of an individual’s assets and/or monies during their lifetime. This can arise for example, where an attorney, family member, or other individual, are appointed (or not) to manage their financial affairs but have failed to do so.
Our accredited mediator, Rajinder Rai, can provide a more conciliatory approach to disputes. This can be very useful in terms of preserving relationships between the parties and saving unnecessary legal costs.
