Contesting a Will UK

Claim your rightful inheritance by contesting a Will in the UK on a genuine no-win, no-fee basis.

Call 0845 408 1914 to claim your inheritance with no financial risk or complete the form opposite and we'll call you.

The United Kingdom comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, however for the purposes of this page when we refer to the UK (United Kingdom) we are actually referring to Great Britain, which comprises England, Scotland and Wales. We do this due to differences in law between the countries of the United Kingdom.

Why contest a Will?

The death of a relative or friend is a time of heightened emotions for all of us and this difficult time can often be complicated when it comes time to deal with the distribution of your loved one's estate. If there is a problem with the Will, no Will was left, or the Will has gone missing or been destroyed your best recourse to ensure your rightful inheritance may be to bring a contentious probate claim by contesting the Will in court via a Probate Solicitor.

Some of the most common grounds for contesting a Will in the UK include:

• Invalidity
• Financial dependence
• Fraud
• Promised inheritance
• Moral issues
• Lost or destroyed Will
• Laws of Intestacy
• Unreceived inheritance
• Mental incapacity
• Third party beneficiaries

These reasons for contesting a Will are described in more detail below.

Invalidity of the Will

In order for a Will to be considered legally valid, the Testator (the deceased) must have met all of the following conditions at the time the Will was made:

• The Will must have been made voluntarily and without any undue influence from another person
• The Will must have been made in writing
• The Testator must have signed the Will in the presence of at least two witnesses (both aged 18 years or older) who in turn signed the Will in the Testator's presence
• The Testator must have been aged 18 years or older (there can occasionally be exceptions to this rule)
• The Testator must have been of sufficient mental capability to understand what they were doing and its implications for their estate upon their death

If any of the above criteria have not been met, then you may have grounds for contesting a Will in the UK on the basis that the Will is invalid.

Financial dependence

If, during the lifetime of the deceased, you received financial payments, gifts, or support from the deceased prior to their death then you may have grounds from bringing a claim on the basis of an unrecognised financial dependancy.

Fraud

If it is reasonably believed that the Will was completed fraudulently then you may have grounds for making a claim.

Promised inheritance

If the deceased promised that you would be a beneficiary of their Will in return for you doing something for them without being paid for it at the time ((e.g. you agreed to care for the deceased either on a part time or full time basis or you allowed the deceased to live with you or you made repairs to a property owned in part or in full by the deceased or you built a property owned in part or in full by the deceased, you invested in a business), but you were subsequently not named as a beneficiary in the Will, then you may have grounds for a claim on the basis of an unrealised promised inheritance.

Moral issues

A variety of moral issues will be considered by the court. For example, if you are a child of the deceased but you have received no or an insufficient inheritance then you may have grounds for making a claim.

In order to qualify for this type of claim you will need to have little or no income and little or no savings or equity in your home. Alternatively if you are disabled or you have a child (of any age) that is disabled that lives with you, then you may also have a claim.

Lost or destroyed Will

If the Will has been lost or destroyed, then the court may need to decide who inherits.

Laws of Intestacy

The term Intestate is generally used within UK law to describe the status of not having made a valid Will prior to death. There can also be circumstances where a Will has been made, but applies only to a portion of the deceased's estate.

Intestacy Rules are intended to make fair provision for a dependent spouse or other relative in the event of the death of the person upon whom they were dependant.

Generally speaking, the deceased's estate is distributed in the following priority:

1. A surviving spouse or civil partner
2. Children and their descendants
3. Parents
4. Siblings
5. Siblings' descendants
6. Grandparents
7. Parents' siblings
8. Parents' siblings' descendants

Should none of the above relatives be identifiable, the order of priority is extended to the more remote degrees of kinship.

Unreceived inheritance

If, despite being named as a beneficiary of the Will, your inheritance remains unpaid then you may have grounds for making a claim.

Mental incapacity

If, when the Will was made, the deceased was mentally ill, on prescribed psychiatric medication, resident at a psychiatric hospital, had given Power of Attorney to somebody else for mental reasons, or had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act then you may have grounds for making a claim on the basis of mental incapacity.

Third party beneficiaries

If one or more of the beneficiaries is unconnected to the deceased (for example a charity), then you may have grounds for making a claim.

Call 0845 408 1914 to claim your inheritance with no financial risk or complete the form opposite and we'll call you.

Going Legal has been established for over 20 years, during which time we have been successful in recovering many millions of pounds for our clients and unlike other firms we welcome complex and difficult contested probate cases.

If you believe that you have grounds for contesting a Will You may wish to speak to one of our specialists who will guide you through the process and introduce you to an experienced Probate Solicitor who will work for you on a genuine No-Win, No-Fee basis.