Contentious probate is a specialist area of probate law that relates to a dispute which arises when someone dies.
These are a number of ways in which such a dispute may arise:
- When a person contests a Will they are stating that
- The Will has been made as a result of Undue Coercion or Influence —an individual has been pressured into writing or making changes to a will.
- The person making the Will lacked Testamentary Capacity —the person was not “sound of mind, memory and understanding” at the time of signing the Will.
- The Person making the Will Lacked Knowledge and Approval —the individual did not understood and approve the Will when it was signed
When a person makes a Claim against the Estate they are using legislation called the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 to argue that the deceased’s Will or the Intestacy Rules, if the deceased did not leave a valid Will, have not made reasonable financial provision for them
There can be other disputes during the course of administration regarding personal items, money given away or lent by the deceased or even the deceased’s funeral wishes.
It’s not always obvious to the Personal Representatives at the start that there will be a dispute and to the untrained eye the potential for a challenge may be missed. Our experts are on hand to advise you so that you can fulfil your obligations as a Personal representative.