Executor Archives

How to contest a will: A complete guide

Posted on 29 January 202520 March 2025 by Sarah O'Sullivan

Can you contest a will?

Yes you can contest a will. There are a range of ways to do this, and this article outlines the key information you need to know.

What are the grounds for contesting a will?

There are many ways to contest a will – they are known as grounds for contesting a will. Common reasons for challenging a will include proving that it is invalid, or that the will did not make adequate provision for dependants.

The process of contesting a will is known as contentious probate. Family will disputes or disputes over inheritance are common and often stressful. It’s a good idea to get advice from specialist contentious probate solicitors about how to successfully contest a will. They can tell you if you have a realistic claim and the best way to move forward. Your solicitor will also make sure you follow all the correct procedures.

Can an executor challenge a will?

Yes, an executor/executrix can challenge a will – but, to do so, they normally need to step down from their role in administering the estate. This is because the role of the executor is to carry out the deceased’s wishes and defend the will. Understandably, challenging the will makes it impossible for the executor to perform their duties in this regard. Therefore, it is not possible to contest a will and remain executor/executrix of the estate.

Valid execution: Has the will been properly executed

You can challenge a will if it wasn’t drafted correctly and there is a mistake as a result. Mistakes in wills normally involve issues with signatures, witnesses and terminology within the will itself. You might be able to challenge the will if:

it wasn’t signed by the testator
the testator’s signature wasn’t witnessed by two people present at the same time as the testator signed it
the people who witnessed the signature didn’t meet the requirements for doing so (there are strict rules about who can witness the signature on a will)

Lack of capacity: Did the person have the mental capacity to make a will?

The will might be invalid if the testator didn’t fully understand or know about the contents of their will, or those people close to them to whom they ought to have regard, or understand the approximate extent of their estate. You might be able to challenge a will if you think that the testator was not of ‘sound mind’ when they gave instructions or executed the will for example, you may be contesting a will due to dementia. The legal term for this is ‘lack of testamentary capacity’. To make a valid will, the testator needs to:

understand they were making a will and the significance of doing so
know the rough value of their estate
understand the effect their will would have
not be suffering from any mental conditions which might affect their ability to make important decisions

Undue influence: Was the person under pressure to make a will?

Although what constitutes undue influence in a will is more difficult to prove, you may be able to challenge the will if you think that someone has coerced or influenced the testator into making the will, which otherwise does not reflect their free will. This is called undue influence. It means that the testator didn’t feel able to exercise their own free will when giving instructions for the will. It can happen if someone in a position of trust uses their position to exert pressure, coerce or influence the testator to leave their assets in a certain way. To prove there was undue influence, you will need to show that there is no other reasonable theory to explain the terms of the will.

Forged wills: Contesting a fraudulent will

Contesting a forged will involves showing that the will is forged or some type of fraud took place during its creation or execution; in which case the will could be declared invalid. You may be able to contest a will if, for example, the testators signature was forged.

Can I challenge a will that fails to make reasonable financial provision?

You might be able to challenge a will if it does not make ‘reasonable’ financial provision for you. Normally, this only applies if you are a spouse or civil partner or dependent of the deceased, or one of the other eligible categories of claimants under the Inheritance Provision for Family and Dependents Act 1975.

What does reasonable financial provision mean?

This type of claim is usually made by spouses, civil partners and dependants, who might be able to challenge a will if they were:

not mentioned in the will
not left as much as they need or expected to receive
if the deceased passed away without a will (‘intestate’)

When can I challenge a will?

To make a claim under the Inheritance Act, you have six months from the date of the Grant of Probate. The same time limit does not apply if you are contesting the will but, it is sensible to proceed as soon as possible, to avoid adverse evidential issues and adverse tax or cost outcomes.

What happens if I am successful in challenging a will?

When a will is declared invalid it is normally replaced by the previous valid will. If there is no earlier valid will, intestacy rules will apply.

If you made a claim under the Inheritance Act the Court may change how the deceased’s assets are distributed (and go against the terms of the will).

Inheritance disputes claims and challenging a will

We know that disputes over wills, trusts and inheritance need to be handled with sensitivity. At Tees, we handle all inheritance disputes with the utmost care and sensitivity to potential family issues. We’re here to help you move forward and secure the best possible result in your situation.

What is the difference between contesting a will and contentious probate?

Contentious probate means a dispute about how someone’s estate is sorted out after their death. Disputes about the will itself are considered contentious probate, but will disputes are not the only disputes that come under contentious probate. For instance, a dispute may relate to how the assets within the estate are disposed of, or distributed.

How can I obtain a copy of a will?

Ask the Executors of the will to give you a copy; they are not obliged to release the will but if you are a person connected to the estate and/or have a potential claim, the will would normally be released to your legal adviser.

After the grant of probate is issued, a will becomes a public document, which means anyone can apply for a copy. To see if a grant of probate has been issued, search for free at the Probate Registry on www.gov.uk/search-will-probate If it has been issued, the will is now public and it will be easy to get a copy online.

You can also set up a standing search with the Probate Registry for them to automatically send you a copy of the grant and the will if a grant of probate is issued at any time within six months of the date of the search.

Depending on the situation, you can also make an application to the court for an order to release a copy to you.

Can you look at someone’s will online?

Yes. You need to get the probate court file number from the executor. Alternatively, you should be able to get it from the court by phone, online or by going to the court, just by providing the name of the person and the date of their death. Wills that go to the Probate Registry become public. These are the wills that are in place when people die. Previous versions of wills are not registered because they are invalidated by the new will; so previous versions are private.

Can an executor be removed?

Once an executor has started practical arrangements regarding the estate (called intermeddling), they can only be removed by a court order or settlement agreement reached at mediation or via negotiation. This applies even if it is the executor themselves who wants to be removed. If no practical steps have yet been taken, an executor can remove themselves easily by simply saying to the legal adviser involved, that they don’t want to do it. If someone else is trying to get them removed, it’s always better, if possible, to try mediation or negotiation to resolve the dispute, rather than going to court. If you do apply to the court, you will need to submit:

a copy of the grant of probate which must be certified and sealed
witness statement covering why you think the executor should be removed
witness statement naming someone who you think should replace the executor and what your reasons are.

What are the grounds for removing an executor?

There needs to be a serious reason and evidence of misconduct. The courts will not allow a change for trivial reasons such as petty family arguments or relatively short delays. This is because the executor was named by the person who died as the person they wanted to undertake the role. Reasons for removal could include:

conflict of interest causing the executor not to follow the deceased’s wishes
serious incompetence such as severe mishandling of possessions
physical or mental disability making it impossible for them to carry out the function
dishonesty
using the funds or property for themselves or in ways which are significantly inappropriate
absence of accounting records
a criminal conviction
refusing to abide by court orders.

What to do when someone dies

Posted on 8 September 202020 March 2025 by Sophie Soraf

When someone dies, there are lots of practical issues to be dealt with, at what will inevitably be a very difficult time for the person’s family and friends. Here we outline the main things that will need to be done during those difficult early days.

Family and friends can usually deal with most of the practical things that need doing immediately after a death. Solicitors normally get involved a little later. If there is no family member or friend to deal with the practical matters, then a solicitor can help with some or all of these things.

Security and insurance for property

If the person who has died lived alone, someone should go to their home on the day of the death to do urgent things which cannot wait. The more common steps that may need to be taken are as follows:

Security: take the security precautions that you would take when leaving your own home empty for a while, such as locking all doors and windows, stopping deliveries of papers and milk and moving valuable items, so that passers-by cannot easily see them.
Pets: if the person had a pet, make temporary arrangements for it to be looked after by family or friends or through an animal rescue charity.
Guns: if you know that the person had a gun licence and kept firearms at the property, report the death to the police so that they can make arrangements for the guns to be kept safely.
Insurance: look for papers relating to the insurance of the property and its contents. Ring the insurers, tell them about the death and make sure that there is adequate home and contents cover in place. Keep a note of your conversation with the insurers with the paperwork. If you can’t find insurance documents, the insurance company name will often be found in a recent bank statement.

Everything that is in the home of the person who has died should remain there where possible. This makes it easy to arrange for all the person’s property to be valued where necessary for inheritance tax purposes.

If there are very valuable items and you believe they are not adequately insured or secure, consider moving them to a more secure place, but consult the personal representatives or close relatives of the person who has died or the person’s solicitors before you do this.

Registering the death

When someone dies, a doctor issues a medical certificate which states the cause of death. The death needs to be recorded formally on the register for births, deaths and marriages. A death must be registered within five days after the date of the death.

The death must be registered at the register office for births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships for the district where the person died. If you do not know where this is, contact the local authority or visit here. A relative should, if possible, register the death but the registrar allows certain non-relatives to register if no relative is available. The registrar will be able to provide information on who can act. Ring the register office first to find out if it has an appointment system.

The following papers contain information needed for registering the death:

birth certificate
marriage or civil partnership certificate
death certificate of former wife, husband or civil partner
state pension or allowance book
passport

Even if you cannot find these papers, you can register the death if you have all the necessary information. Whoever registers the death should also take to the register office the medical certificate from the doctor and the following information:

date of death
place of death
full name of the person who has died
any former names
occupation
last address
name, date of birth and occupation of the person’s spouse (including a same-sex spouse for marriages on or after 13 March 2014) or civil partner (whether living or dead); and
information about any state benefits the person was receiving.

If you do not know all the details about the person who has died that you need for the registrar, you should be able to find them in his or her birth certificate, marriage or civil partnership certificate and state pension or allowance book.

The registrar issues an official copy of the register, called a certified copy death certificate, after the person registering the death signs the register. You can obtain any number of certified copy death certificates. You do have to pay for them; the price varies from one local authority to another. You can claim back the cost from the estate in due course.

You need several copy certificates to send out when giving notice of the death to banks, insurance companies and so on. You will also need a copy for the person’s pension provider, and it is sensible to get one or two spare copies while you are at the register office as it is less convenient to order additional copies later.

The registrar also issues a certificate for burial or cremation. Give this to the funeral director who is making the funeral arrangements.

What if the death is reported to the coroner?

Unexpected deaths are reported to the coroner, sometimes by the police but usually by the doctor who was called when the person died.

When a death is reported to the coroner, the coroner usually arranges for a post-mortem. This normally establishes the cause of death. If the death is from natural causes, it can be registered, and the funeral can go ahead.

There is only an inquest if the cause of death is in doubt, even after the post-mortem, or the post-mortem shows that death was not from natural causes. Even if there is to be an inquest, the coroner usually allows the funeral to be held after the post-mortem.

Arrangements for payment of ongoing bills

Bank accounts and other assets in the sole name of the person who has died are usually “frozen” from the death until the personal representatives obtain a grant of probate or letters of administration.

If the person who has died paid household bills, then the other members of the household may be worried about how to manage between the death and the grant. There are various ways of dealing with this problem, for example:

if a member of the household had a joint account with the person who has died, that account can be used to pay bills
it may be possible to borrow from a family member or from the bank
if the person who has died had life insurance or was a member of a pension scheme, a lump sum may be payable soon after the death.

It’s a good idea to obtain professional advice on the different options as there may be relevant tax or financial circumstances which need to be considered.

Dealing with state pension and benefits arrangements

The registrar will give you a form (form BD8) to complete. This is used to tell the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) Bereavement Service of the death so that it can deal with the state pensions and benefits arrangements of the person who has died.

The personal representatives or family can complete this form or ask a solicitor to complete it and send it to the DWP. Alternatively, you can call the DWP Bereavement Service or search the government website.

A number of local councils offer the DWP’s “Tell us once” service which is a way of letting a number of government departments know that someone has died, by just making one contact. If this is available in your area, the registrar will either use the service for you or give you a unique service reference number so that you can use the service over the telephone or online. The service can be used to contact the government departments that deal with the deceased person’s benefits, state pension, tax, passport and driving licence.

Locating any Will

It’s best to find the latest Will of the person who has died (or at least a copy) as soon as possible after the death because:

they may have said in the Will what kind of funeral they wanted
the administration of the estate goes more smoothly if the executors (the person or people appointed in the Will as the personal representatives of the estate) are involved from the start.

People who get solicitors to make their wills for them often keep a copy of the will with their important papers. The original is usually kept by the solicitors’ firm: the address and phone number of the firm is often on the cover of the copy will. It’s important that a thorough search is made to check whether the deceased left a will and to make sure that the most up to date Will is located.

If you cannot find a Will (or a copy) in the home of the person who has died, ask the person’s bank and their solicitors if they know where it is. There are also certain searches and advertisements which can be made for a Will – a solicitor can advise on these.

If the person who has died left a Will which does not appoint you as an executor, but you know the people who are appointed executors, make sure they know about the death. You and the executors can then decide who is to register the death, if this has not already been done, and who is to arrange the funeral.

If you have registered the death and obtained copy death certificates but you are not an executor, hand the copy certificates over to the executors or to their solicitors. If you are not going to deal with the DWP, hand over the form relating to social security benefits too. If the executors are arranging the funeral, give them the certificate for burial or cremation.

If, because you cannot find a Will, you do not know who the personal representatives are, you can still arrange and hold the funeral.

Only the executors appointed in a will are entitled to see the will before probate is granted. If you are not an executor, the solicitors of the person who has died or the person’s bank, if it has the will, cannot allow you to see it or send you a copy of it, unless the executors agree. However, they can tell you who the executors are. They can also let you know what the will, or a note kept with it, says about the kind of funeral the person wanted.

Arranging the funeral and organ donation

It’s desirable to find the following documents before the funeral but the funeral can go ahead even if you do not find them:

the most recent will of the person who has died, or a copy of it
any note saying what kind of funeral the person wanted
papers relating to life insurance or pension arrangements.

Many people leave notes saying what kind of funeral they would like, or they express their wishes in their wills. You are not legally obliged to follow the wishes of a person who has died but usually relatives and friends prefer to do so. It can be distressing to discover after the funeral that it was not arranged as the person wished, so look as soon as possible for a note and for the will.

If you know that the person who has died wanted to leave his or her body for medical research, look for the relevant consent form. The form may be stored with the person’s important papers or with the will. The form will have details of the relevant research institution: contact it and follow the procedure it recommends.

It may also be relevant to consider whether the person who has died made any decision regarding giving or refusing consent to organ donation, either by recording a decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register or by speaking to friends and family. In England the law relating to organ donation changed on 20 May 2020 to a new “opt out” system, whereby consent to organ donation can be assumed in some circumstances. Further information about the new system can be found here.

When you have confirmed that the body is to be buried or cremated rather than given for medical research (if this is the case), give the certificate for burial or cremation to the funeral director. The funeral director will discuss the arrangements with you and guide you through the process leading up to the funeral and the burial or cremation.

By taking on the responsibility for arranging the funeral, you are also taking on the responsibility of paying for it. You will eventually be able to reimburse yourself from the estate of the person who has died, if there is enough money in the estate to cover the funeral expenses.

You, or other family members, may be willing to pay the funeral expenses, on the basis that you will claim repayment from the estate later. However, there are other ways of paying for the funeral:

look through the papers of the person who has died for anything relating to a pre-paid funeral plan. If you find that the person subscribed to a plan, contact the provider and follow the procedure it recommends.
a bank where the person who has died had an account, may be prepared to release money from the account. The bank “freezes” an account when it learns about the account-holder’s death, making no further payments out. However, it may make an exception for funeral expenses. Contact the bank to ask whether it will release money to pay for the funeral.
look through the papers of the person who has died for anything relating to life insurance or pensions and contact the providers. If the person had a job at the time of the death, contact the employer’s HR department. Lump sum payments can often be made from life insurance policies and pension schemes very soon after a death. However, you should take professional advice before using lump sums of this type to pay funeral expenses as there may be a more tax-efficient way to use the money.
If you are arranging a funeral for a partner or close relative and you are on a low income, you may qualify for help in paying for it. You may have to repay some or all of it from the estate of the person who has died. For more information, see https://www.gov.uk/after-a-death/overview.
In some instances, the funeral provider may be willing to wait until probate has issued for settlement of the invoice.

People to notify

Anyone else with whom the person who died had a business connection should be notified of their death as soon as possible. Some of the more common persons to be notified are listed below.

Anyone with whom they had a business connection
Banks and building societies
Private or local authority landlord
Employer
Private pension providers
DVLA
Passport Office
Royal Mail: it may be appropriate to arrange for the deceased’s mail to be redirected to another address.

Utility companies and other service providers. For example:

utility companies supplying gas, electricity and water.
broadband, phone and satellite TV providers.
the TV licensing authority.
the local council tax authority.
suppliers of other regular services, such as gardening and cleaning.

Administering the estate

What is estate administration?

Very broadly, administering an estate involves collecting in all the assets of the deceased, settling any liabilities, attending to all tax, accounting and reporting matters and distributing any net estate to the correct beneficiaries.

Who administers the estate?

If the deceased left a valid Will then it will generally appoint executors who are entitled to administer the estate. If there is no Will or no executors appointed (or the executors are unwilling or unable to act) then the law specifies who can administer the estate (“administrators”).

The executors or administrators dealing with the estate are known as the “personal representatives”. It will be important to check that the Will located is the most up to date Will of the deceased and a solicitor can advise on how to do this.

Is a grant of probate/letters of administration required?

A grant of probate or letters of administration is a document confirming who has formal authority to administer the estate of the deceased (known as the “personal representatives”). In many cases a grant will be required, however a grant is not always necessary where the estate is very straightforward. A solicitor will be able to advise you whether a grant is needed and who is entitled to apply.

The benefits of using a solicitor

The personal representatives need to decide whether to ask a solicitor to help them deal with the estate. For very straightforward estates of modest value, the personal representatives may feel comfortable dealing with the estate without legal advice. However, they do need to be aware that even a simple estate is time consuming and that personal representatives can be personally liable to various parties e.g. estate beneficiaries, creditors or HMRC, if they distribute the estate incorrectly, do not settle all liabilities, or do not comply with all requirements. Also, if there is an inheritance tax liability, this can sometimes be reduced, or even eliminated, with appropriate planning. Hence the personal representatives will often wish to instruct a solicitor to ensure that the estate is dealt with appropriately and for their own protection.

If the personal representatives decide to instruct solicitors to advise them in relation to the estate, they should arrange a meeting as soon as possible to take matters forward.

If the person who has died seems not to have left a Will, then one or more of the person’s closest relatives (wife, husband or civil partner, father or mother, brother or sister, son or daughter) should contact a solicitor for advice on making further searches for the Will and explain what to do if the person did not leave a Will.