Contentious Probate

Contesting probate when there is no will

We can help you with a range of issues relating to there being no will including:

• a partner who was not married to the deceased, who hasn’t been provided for
• a child or another dependant who hasn’t been provided for
• when a married partner who is now estranged has inherited – this can sometimes occur if someone dies unexpectedly
• arguments over who should administer the estate.

Contesting probate includes many different types of disputes. Examples of contentious probate disputes, not limited to the will itself, include:

• claims for ‘further provision’ where a person feels they should have been provided for, usually by a spouse, parent, adult child, or someone who was financially dependent on the deceased – under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
• trusts – where money and assets have been left in a trust, disputes over the ownership of the assets, which trustees are appointed, how the finances are managed on behalf of the beneficiaries
• to honour a promise not reflected in the will, for example, where a person has worked on a farm for their lifetime under the promise it would be passed wholly or partly to them
• to clarify a will’s meaning for example, where it is confusing
• to rectify a will where there is a mistake in the will’s content for example, establishing correct ownership of a property
• lifetime gifts – whether the person who has died was of sound mind at the time the gifts were made
• challenging the appointment of an executor
• removing an executor
• mismanagement by an executor
• managing disagreements between beneficiaries or between trustees
• establishing the value of complex assets
• lost and damaged wills
• court applications, for example, to produce documentation or retrieve assets which were wrongly given
• protecting the interests of vulnerable people unable to manage their own affairs
• professional negligence claims.