What questions should you ask when challenging a will?

A will is a legally binding document through which an individual decides how they will divide their wealth and property after their death. However, it is possible to challenge wills under specific grounds if:

• Potential beneficiaries are unhappy with the result of a will, or;
• Believe that there has not been enough provision made for them.

Any Questions for Challenging a Will?

Contesting a will can be a long and complex process, and below are some of the most frequent questions we answer.

Can You Even Do it in the First Place?

Wills are legally binding documents that people write in order to ensure that their assets are divided as they wish. While this may mean that wills are not easy to challenge, it is certainly possible to do so with the right grounds and under the right circumstances.

Although challenging a will is not a regular occurrence, there have been many successful cases where upset beneficiaries can overturn a relation’s will.

How Can You Challenge a Will?

You can challenge executor of will under specific grounds. These include:

• First, if you believe that forgery took place in the signing of the will or its contents.
• Also, if you believe that the testator had a mental capacity before their death that was unfit for understanding the contents of the will.
• Third, if they were the victim of undue influence from another beneficiary while writing the will.
• Finally, you believe that the will was invalid. For example, it didn’t meet specific legal regulations.

To challenge a will, seek a solicitor who ensures you have strong enough evidence to succeed. Moreover, they can help to guide you through your options.

Who Can Challenge a Will?

Blood relations of the testator are the main category of people that can challenge a will. However, others also all have valid claims when challenging probate.

• Spouses;
• Adoptees;
• Creditors in lieu of money from the estate
• Financial dependents of the testator, and;
• Those who were previously expecting items in the will.

What Does it Cost When Challenging a Will?

The cost of the will highly depend on the length and severity of the case. However, if the case goes to court, you should expect solicitor and court fees of over £100,000.

Not only this, but if you lose the case, you may be liable to pay these. And they don’t automatically come from the contents of the estate.

Will I Need to Go To Court for Challenging a Will?

Many people opt to attempt to resolve their probate contest through mediation before going straight to court. In short, many cases find resolution in this way. Not only is this less stressful, but it can help you to maintain family relations during inheritance fights.

Mediation for probate cases includes holding a discussion between beneficiaries in an attempt to reach a resolution. The case falls under the monitoring of an impartial third party. If the case finds no resolution through this, you may have to go to court to ensure that a judge can preside over your case and balance the evidence.

What are the Time Limits for Challenging a Will?

In some cases, the time limit to contest probate is six months. However, in most cases, there is no time limit. In turn, you can contest probate many years after the assets of the will have been given away.

Upset as a beneficiary of a will? Do you think you have grounds to contest a will? If so, you may be considering who is entitled to contest a will in the first place. Contesting probate, by nature, is an extremely tough and trying process.

As a result, you must ensure that you have sufficient grounds on which to base your claim.

This guide will help anyone who is struggling to accept their part in a will as a beneficiary.

Who is Entitled to Contest a Will?

You can contest a will if you are:

• The testator’s blood relation;
• A spouse or divorcè of the testator; an official beneficiary in a previous will, or;
• Having a significant reason to expect specific terms as part of a promise by the testator before dying.

You can also contest a will if you are a creditor to whom the estate owes money. Also, if you’re financially dependent on the testator and the will didn’t make sufficient funding available to you.

Is there a time limit to contest a will?

Much of this falls down to the grant of probate. Generally speaking, you have up until:

• They grant an executor, and;
• The executor begins distributing assets according to their Final Will and Testament.

In turn, that brings us to the issue of legal costs. It can be very difficult regarding contesting a will costs after distribution occurs. However, it is possible to make a claim after probate. Ideally, to determine can you dispute a will after distribution, you need to make your claim as soon as possible.

What Grounds Can You Contest a Will on?

There are four main legal grounds on which you can contest a will, in which many different circumstances often fit. You can challenge a will if you believe that all or part of the will is a forgery. For instance, if it has a false signature.

Also, you can challenge if the will is invalid. Perhaps this is because there’s a new will or the official will doesn’t have a proper signature.

You can also contest the will if you believe that the deceased did not have the mental capacity to sign the will or understand its contents, or if you think that the will is a case of undue influence, where another beneficiary has purposefully poisoned the deceased against another recipient in order to claim more.

How Much Does it Cost to Contest a Will?

The cost of contesting a will largely depend on the individual circumstances of the case. For instance, if the case finds resolution after mediation, it’s much less expensive than if the case goes to court.

But if court proceedings are needed to settle the case, the cost for options such as the legal proceedings and solicitors can be anything above £100,000.

Who Pays to Contest a Will?

Many people believe that the estate in question will meet the costs of court proceedings and solicitors. However, this is not always the case. Accordingly, there are a few different options in terms of who will have to pay for the case. Who pays the costs of the contest?

Generally, the judges presiding over the court proceedings decide, and they are likely to fall into one of two options.

Option 1: The testator is inherently the cause of the costs of contesting a will. Accordingly, the money will come out of the estate.

Option 2: On the other hand, the court may say that the costs lie with the party responsible for their causation. For instance, those who contest a will in the first place.

What is ‘knowledge and approval’?

This area of will contesting is tricky, but ties in often with a family member/testator (the person, that is) and their own awareness. Signed and witnessed or not, financial provisions may still be at stake unless proof of their awareness of what they were doing is demonstrable.

In essence, for certain circumstances, a successful will require that the testator had:

the required knowledge to understand the contents of their will and that they approved the content.

For matters involving wills and contentious probate, turn to The Inheritance Experts. With a No Win, No Fee agreement, we can help you bring a claim to contest a will. We’ll also assist with matters of rules of intestacy, probate registry, lack of testamentary capacity and sound mind considerations.