Contested Probate Claims

My mum had dementia, so is her Will invalid?

Capacity and want of knowledge are two grounds on which a Will can be set aside. Medical evidence of a condition is just one of many factors that a court will take into consideration to decide whether a Will is valid or not.

The dementia must be shown to have be substantial enough to have affected your mum’s ability to understand what she was doing at the time a Will was made.

Just having dementia is not conclusive enough and you will need to seek legal advice and probably medical expert evidence.

How do I know if a Will has been properly executed?

A Will is only valid if it is

a) Signed by the deceased
b) In the presence of at 2 (adult and unrelated) witnesses
c) Who also sign the Will at the same time

Even if a Will is validly executed, it can be set aside for reasons such as capacity and fraud.

Do I need a Will?

The simple answer is no. But a Will is useful and some cases necessary if you have valuable assets and need efficient tax planning, or you want to leave your assets to particular people who would not normally inherit automatically (such as unmarried partners or charities).

What happens if there is no Will?

If there is no will then an estate will be distributed in accordance with the rules of intestacy which sets out the order of people who have priority to inherit from an estate – starting with spouses, children, parents, etc.

Do I need to go to court in order to resolve my dispute?

Many people don’t realise that one of the main legal objectives of litigation is to encourage negotiation, so that grievances can be resolved prior to escalating matters to court. Court should always be the last resort and you can be penalised for escalating matters to court without showing evidence of prior negotiation.

Our skilled and experienced solicitors are able to assist you in negotiating the best settlement and help you to resolve your case swiftly, reducing court costs and legal fees.

Could I use a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution to negotiate settlement?

Parties are encouraged to negotiate settlement of a dispute and may choose to use a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). There are many methods of ADR available to clients – these include third party facilitators through mediation, third party decision makers through arbitration, third party informed opinions through early neutral evaluation, and permanent and or temporary decision making through independent adjudication.