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Month: February 2020

A Guide To Handling a Trust Dispute

Posted on by Jonny

When a family member passes away, it’s a hard time for everyone who knows and loves them. It can make it difficult to deal with the legal side of things, specifically executing their will and the potential of a trust having been left. A trust dispute, for instance, is a particularly difficult piece to deal with.

If a trust is in place and you dispute how the trust has been set up or the distribution of your loved one’s assets, we can help.

This guide will give you the information you need to help settle the trust dispute in the right way. Moreover, you can make sure the result is what your family member wants.

What a trust dispute is

Death is not something you will hopefully face regularly. Accordingly, that means you won’t know all the legal jargon surrounding the leaving of an estate through a will. To begin with, you need to know exactly what a trust is.

A trust is when the testator leaves some of their estates to a trustee. In turn, the trustee ensures that it then goes over to a third party. Known as ‘the benefactor’, they take charge at the appropriate time. This is often the case when money or assets go to someone under the age of 18; in essence, safeguarding their inheritance.

What are the grounds to start a trust dispute?

There are many reasons why a trust could be up for dispute. These include:

  • Administration or running of the trust;
  • The value of the assets;
  • The interpretation of the trust, and;
  • Difficult trustees or feuding beneficiaries.

The above are the most common problems you will encounter but are not the only ones. Being aware of the issues particular to your circumstances that could arise from the start help. In short, it will hopefully mean you can see potential problems further up the road and take evasive action.

How do you resolve a trust dispute?

The most effective way to resolve issues is to

  • seek out legal advice and;
  • should it come to it, representation from legal professionals who specialise in inheritance law.

Trust dispute solicitors are experts in the field and can help you with the process of handling a trust dispute.

It is important that you get professional legal support. You need to make sure that the assets left behind by the testator distribute fairly and to the right people.

With money clouding the matter, some people only have their own interests at heart. That’s true even in the aftermath of a death, and this can lead to dispute. Trust disputes can be confusing and distressing, so the best thing you can do is to act quickly. In short, you need to ensure you are doing right by your family member’s wishes.

How we can help

At The Inheritance Experts, we work with specialist law firms who are experts in helping people to resolve trust disputes. This means they are also competent enough to help you and ensure you receive fair treatment on the terms of a trust.

If you believe you have grounds to dispute a trust your loved one put in place and want to know if you have a realistic claim, do not hesitate to get in touch with The Inheritance Experts via the contact form on our website or by calling 0161 413 8763.

How to Proceed if Your Loved One Didn’t Leave a Will

Posted on by Jonny

How to Proceed if Your Loved One Didn’t Leave a Will

In most cases when a family member dies, they leave their wishes on how to divide up their estate in a will. When they don’t leave a will, however, intestacy rules take over.

This will should also contain who they name as their executor. The executor will then need to apply to begin the process of Probate from the Government. With that, they have the right to settle the testator’s affairs and execute their will to the best of their ability.

Intestacy means no will to execute

However, if there’s no will to execute (known as ‘dying intestate’), then the process faces complications. Loved ones might have inheritance disputes, at which time hiring contested wills and probate solicitors can help you receive what you deserve from your loved one’s estate.

What Does it Mean if Your Loved One Didn’t Leave a Will

In short, if a family member doesn’t leave a will to dictate the affairs of their estate, the legal system takes over.

(On this, it’s also worth noting that the rules on intestacy changed at the start of February 2020).

This can, at times, mean that those that the deceased would not have wanted to receive anything from their estate will do.

It is also worth remembering that the laws as to who will receive the estate of someone who died intestate differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. You will need to contact a solicitor to see if you have grounds for contesting a will as laid out by the law in the country you live in. If the testator lives in a different country from the UK though, the intestacy laws of that country will apply.

What Steps Should You Take for Intestacy

If the testator dies part of intestacy, you will need to follow these steps:

  1. Apply to be the administrator or executor of the testator’s estate. This is the same as applying for Probate, except you will need to fill out a different form when applying.
  2. You will need to prove a close relationship, for example, a spouse or child.
  3. If your application is accepted, you will receive what is known as “letters of administration”. These will give you the right to deal with the testator’s estate.

There must be a legal connection between the deceased and the person who becomes their administrator. For instance, think of a partner who lives with the testator for decades, but doesn’t marry them. That partner doesn’t have the right, for example.

However, a separate spouse still wed to the testator does. This is arguably an area of the law that needs updating in order to reflect today’s society and modern relationships.

If you are a long-term partner of the testator, contact a specialist solicitor. Accordingly, you can then fight the ruling and make a valid claim towards your dependency.

What Happens if There Are No Close Living Relatives?

If the testator does not have a spouse or direct relatives, then their estate will belong to the Crown or government. This is done under the law Bona Vacantia.

How we can help

At The Inheritance Experts, we work with specialist law firms. They have a proven track record helping people when a family member dies intestate. As a result, they’re capable of helping you get the proportion of the estate you rightfully deserve.

Do you think you have grounds to contest a will? Do you want to know if you have a realistic claim? Then don’t hesitate to get in touch with The Inheritance Experts. Be sure to do so via the contact form on our website or by calling 0161 413 8763.

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Who Has Contesting a Will Rights?

Posted on by Jonny

If you are considering your contesting a Will rights, it is important to make sure that you are legally allowed to raise a dispute.

One of the main criteria for deciding if a person is entitled to contest a will is whether or not they belong to one of six defined groups that are considered to have the legal right to challenge a will or probate process.

In this guide, we will outline these six groups, along with some of the complex rules that define each group.

Family members

Whether you are related by marriage or by blood will play a factor in determining your right to contest a will. Those family members that are blood relations are in the Inheritance Act, together with a specific list that names relatives that can make a claim for declaring a will invalid.

Even if you aren’t a blood relative, your relationship with the testator will be taken into account. Moreover, you do have legal protection in those cases as well.

Understand contesting a Will rights in England or Wales? Learn more

Beneficiaries of contesting a Will Rights

As a beneficiary in a will, you have a legal entitlement to inherit your piece of the will. Consider two things that the executors of the will might not do.

  • First: what if they don’t pay you the sum the testator left to you?
  • Additionally, what if they don’t hand over any items the testator left to you in the will?

You’d have grounds to make a claim. This way, you ensure that you receive exactly what you deserve. By not executing the testator’s wishes as to the will states, it would be the case that the executor is acting unreasonably in their legal duties.

Furthermore, as a beneficiary, you can also dispute the division of the rest of the will. Especially if you consider the division of the deceased’s estate to be unreasonable.  It is worth remembering that, when considering a will, the ‘estate’ is not just property, but also entails the whole lot. All of the testator’s possessions, cash holdings, savings accounts or investments, and even the land they own.

Therefore, consider if you were in business with the testator as an equal partner. Next, the other business partners receive a greater share of the business than you were. Accordingly, you may feel that this is unfair and want to contest this.

Beneficiaries of earlier wills

As new people come into their lives, people do change their wills and will add these new people in. As a result, people previously in a will may be subject to removal. For example, if a person divorces and then remarries. It’s understandable that they would remove their ex-spouse from their will and replace them with their new spouse.

However, if you’re in an earlier version of a will but not the recent version, you can dispute the will. But only if you can prove that there is a valid reason why you should still be a beneficiary.

For example, say your ex-spouse pays you child maintenance to support the child(ren) you had together. But then the spouse dies, leaving you nothing in the will to help with the upbringing of your child(ren). Then it would be understandable that would want to contest their will.

With this example, any money or other part of their estate your ex-spouse leaves to your child(ren) belongs to them. Most likely, it goes into a trust until they reach adulthood. This money is not for you to use to raise them. You would need to make a separate application for the will to provide continued child maintenance payments.

In addition, this group could at times raise a dispute that causes a criminal investigation to commence.*

Creditors and contesting a Will rights

If you are someone the testator owes money to, you can claim this debt from the testator’s estate. If this is you, you should first try to have what is known as a Section 27 notice sent out. This can be a providence to help those the testator owes money to.

Broken Promises

Among contesting a will rights, this is a particularly major one.

Say you were relying on inheritance for your future that the testator says you’ll receive. As a result, you may be able to challenge that person’s will if they don’t follow through on that promise. You should know that this can be a complex area to dispute though. Therefore, seeking legal advice as early as possible is smart.

You’ll need to prove the promise was made, and that you’re suffering as a result of the promise being broken.

Financial dependents

Even if you are not related to the deceased, you may be able to to make a claim to their part of their estate if it can be shown that you were financially dependent upon the deceased, whether this was monetary or in the form of accommodation.

This group has protection under the Inheritance Act, so you will normally need to make this claim within six months of the probate date.

How we can help with contesting a will

If you fall under any of these categories, there is a chance that you may be able to successfully contest a will.

However, it’s essential that you take appropriate advice before contesting the will.

This is where The Inheritance Experts come in. Following your free, no-obligation discussion with us, we will transfer you to a specialist solicitor. Your solicitor is keen to challenge the will or probate process on your behalf given the circumstances of your claim. In turn, it helps you to get the share of the estate that you deserve.

If you are contesting a will you have not been named in or which you feel is unfair, do not hesitate to contact us via the contact form on our website or by calling 0161 413 8763.

*Particularly if it can be shown that they have been taken out of a will due to fraud or a person wielding undue influence on the testator. Especially when they were not in a fit state to be making decisions about amendments to their will.

How to Contest a Will

Posted on by Jonny

If you are considering contesting the will of a relative, it is vital that you are aware of the processes before you start to contest it. That’s true whether you believe that

  • the will is unfair;
  • it isn’t legally valid, or;
  • the testator suffers from undue pressure into making certain people beneficiaries.

This guide will help you to navigate the often complex world of contesting probate.

Contesting a will or contesting the process of probate when a will is valid can only be done by certain people. These people include the testator’s

  • living relatives;
  • those who were a beneficiary in a previous will, and;
  • those with significant reason to believe they’re a beneficiary in the latest will. For instance, if a promise has been made to the person by the deceased.

In addition, a contest of probate must also fall under one of a few categories. These categories include:

It is also important to remember that the time limits for contesting probate are strict. Therefore, you should make sure that you contest the will or the probate process within six months in some cases. However, in some circumstances, there is no time limit as to when you can contest the will.

How to Contest a Will

Contacting a specialist solicitor

If you are considering contesting a will, it is important to find out whether you have a viable claim. This is where The inheritance Experts come in – one of our advisors will speak to you on a free, no-obligation basis and will advise you whether you have a valid claim that has a good chance of success depending upon the facts.

Finding Grounds and Evidence

So, you have a claim that potentially has a good chance of success and you choose to go forth. We’ll put you in touch with a specialist solicitor with experience in wills and probate cases. They’ll also have a track record in achieving positive results for their clients.

Together, you will collect any evidence that you need to make your case. Subsequently, your solicitor will advise you what the best grounds are to contest the will.

Mediation

Once this is done, most solicitors will suggest mediation with the other beneficiaries. Often, this is the best possible first step to attempt to resolve the dispute.

During mediation, you will hold a discussion with the other beneficiaries. A third party without bias leads the discussion, helping you manage your disputes. This is with the aim of resolving any existing issues, any further issues that arise during the discussions and, ultimately, guiding all of the beneficiaries to a conclusion that everyone is happy with. In many cases, mediation will resolve the claim, and the case will not need to continue.

Going to Court

If there’s no resolution through mediation though, it will go to a probate court. There, a judge will balance the evidence and decide the merits of each beneficiaries’ claim. Also, they’ll consider the wishes the testator expresses in their will.

Going to court can be a long and costly process though, and you may not receive a result for a number of years if the judge is unable to make a decision. As we say, the case progressing to court is also extremely expensive. Moreover, if you lose, you may have to pay the other beneficiaries’ legal fees in full.

How to contest a will with our help

At The Inheritance Experts, we work with specialist law firms who have a proven track record in handling wills and probate disputes. This means they are well-placed to help you get the proportion of the estate you are entitled to.

If you believe you have grounds to contest a will and want to know if you have a realistic claim, do not hesitate to get in touch with The Inheritance Experts via the contact form on our website or by calling 0161 413 8763.

Challenging A Will: 3 Key Questions Answered

Posted on by Jonny

Losing a family member leads to a very distressing time. Particularly if you then find out that you have been left out of their will. Challenging a will, hence, takes that level of distress even higher.

Therefore, this may mean that you will need to contest their last will and testament. Here are some of the main queries you may have when it comes to challenging a will.

Who Can Challenge a Will?

  • Blood relatives. These are the people most likely to contest a will.
  • A spouse. This is true regardless of whether they are still in marriage to or split from the testator. If the marriage to the testator remains intact, they have the right to challenge the will.
  • A creditor. This is if the testator’s estate owes a creditor money.
  • A beneficiary. This can be someone in an earlier will.
  • An individual who relies on the testator. This can be through financial support or accommodation.
  • An individual who receives a promise to an item. This could be a verbal or written agreement between the testator and the individual. Then, a challenge can be made if the agreement wasn’t set in the will.

Why Might Someone Be Challenging a Will?

There are a variety of reasons, both legal and personal, why someone is challenging a will.

For example, a person might contest a will if they feel that they receive unfair treatment. Therefore, they would be challenging the will as a matter of principle. As part of this, they may also feel that they know the testator’s intentions. More importantly, they feel as though the will doesn’t speak adequately enough to those intentions.

In order to prove this, the person would need to show that they had a close relationship with the testator. Again, this can be shown in a variety of ways. For example. the two are in a marriage, or a long-term relationship and cohabitation.

The legal grounds for contesting a will, meanwhile, are as follows:

  • The will is invalid. For example, incorrectly made or doesn’t have signatures in the presence of two independent co-signing witnesses.
  • The writer of the will isn’t mentally fit enough to be signing a legal document.
  • The document or signature was forged. However, this can be very hard to prove.
  • The writer of the will faces pressure/coercion into creating the will or changing an existing will.
  • The will doesn’t adequately provide for those who were financially dependent upon the testator.

What Exactly Happens When You’re Challenging a Will?

In the first instance, check that the person contesting the will has the right to do so. If so, proceedings will begin for negotiation and mediation. The solicitor will seek an agreement which benefits all parties involved, in the quickest time possible and with minimal financial expenditure.

However, the best intentions of any legal parties and individuals might fall short. In fact, it may be impossible to come to an agreement during the mediation stage.

If this is the case, the issue will then be taken a step further to court, and you will adhere to a court hearing. This could include a wait of at least 12 months before an official court date, therefore this avenue is particularly time-consuming and expensive.

An affidavit will need to prepare in advance of the hearing. Moreover, a court will hear the argument and come to a resolution.

How we can help

If you are considering contesting a will, it is important to seek legal advice as soon as possible. At The Inheritance Experts, we help people who want to contest a will or trust get what is rightfully theirs.

When you call us, one of our advisors will chat through the particular circumstances of your potential claim and advise whether you may have grounds for a claim. This is done on a free, no-obligation basis.

If you proceed with your claim, we’ll match you with the firm who best suits the circumstances. Your solicitor will then collect any evidence and will begin negotiating with the other side.

If you are thinking of challenging a will and would like to know if you have grounds for a valid claim, don’t hesitate. Contact The Inheritance Experts by filling in the contact form on our website or by calling 0161 413 8763.

Why you should draw up a will

Posted on by Jonny

Ah, Wills: it may seem like something you don’t need to do for a long time. Yet there are multiple reasons why you should consider drawing up a will now.

For example, if you have children, a will can clearly state who your child(ren)’s legal guardians would be. Also, who you would want to take care of them in the event anything were to happen to you.

Similarly, you can also specify how those guardians bring up your child(ren) too. For example: should they go to religious schools for their education? Will the child(ren)’s grandparents have access rights?

In addition, you can also use your will to specify what your wishes are for your funeral. This does not simply have to be whether you choose burial or cremation. It can also include

  • any songs to play during the ceremony;
  • where you like the ceremony to be held, and;
  • what you would like to happen to your ashes if you do choose cremation.

Other things you can do in a Will

Some people also use their will to specify that they want to donate their body to a medical research facility, such as the UK Biobank. Or they specify that they wish to donate their organs, too. On this, we would say that you should speak to your friends and family about your wishes too though.

Furthermore, by drawing up a will, you can also state clearly who you want to get what aspects of your estate. To be clear, a person’s ‘estate’ does not refer solely to any property they own, such as a house or a flat, but also all of their possessions and any money, including the contents of ISAs, saving bonds and any investments.

Decide on property division through Wills

Therefore, through Wills, you can leave your property to your direct next of kin. That might mean your spouse or your child(ren), while also leaving individual possessions to specific people inside and outside of your family.

For example, say you have an ornament in a display cabinet that your best friend admires. With a will, you could henceforth specify that they get it once you pass away. Similarly, you might share a hobby with one of your grandchildren (stamp collecting, perhaps). Accordingly, your will can specify that he/she gets your collection when you pass away. Rather than leaving it up to the frailties of common sense to prevail after your death.

On this, it is worth noting that, if you were to die intestate, the rules regarding statutory legacy changed recently.

It makes sense then to draw up a will. It ensures they divide your estate as you wish; therefore, you’re also helping to squelch the possibility that the division of your estate leads to a dispute following your death.

Accordingly, we’d suggest that it will also help those you leave behind. Rather than having to divide your belongings and the potential squabbles this could cause, they can instead focus on grieving your passing.

What you should do about Wills

In the first instance, make sure that you get a will drawn up! Depending upon the complexity of the will you want to draw up, this needn’t cost the earth either. In fact, a simple will could cost you from around £80 to have drawn up depending upon the firm you use.

But a specialist will involving the creation of trusts, overseas properties, etc, cost over £500 to draw up. On this, please note that national laws may apply if you own land and property in other countries. For example, if you own land or property in Italy, Italian law states that this passes automatically to your children upon your death.

However, say one of your family members dies without having left a will (known as ‘dying intestate’). Or you feel that a family member’s will treats you unfairly and the estate is now in dispute. It’s a good idea to speak to someone with experience in the areas of contesting a will or contesting probate.

More About Us

At The Inheritance Experts, we work with specialist legal firms who have a proven track record in handling wills and probate matters. This means they are able to help you get the proportion of the estate you deserve. After your initial consultation with our advisors, which is done on a free no-obligation basis, we will match you with the firm that best suits the circumstances of your claim.

If you believe you are due a portion of an estate and want to know if you have a fair and realistic claim to some or all of it, do not hesitate to get in touch with The Inheritance Experts via the contact form on our website or by calling 0161 413 8763.

New rules of intestacy come into force

Posted on by Jonny

Regarding rules of intestacy, our panellists Hugh James Solicitors say that from Thursday (6 February):

the statutory legacy amount your spouse or civil partner can inherit if you pass away without leaving a will is set to increase from £250,000 to £270,000.

They will also still have entitlement to 50% of the estate above this sum, with the remaining 50% being split equally among your children.

In essence: if you have no children, your spouse or civil partner will inherit your entire estate.

This is because, if you die without leaving a will, your estate will be dealt with under the rules of intestacy. On this point, it is important to remember the following.

Say you have a partner but not by marriage or in a civil partnership with. Accordingly, they have no entitlement to inherit anything at all under the rules of intestacy.

In a situation where you have no children but do have a partner outside marriage or in a civil partnership with, the rules of intestacy state that the estate would go to your legal next of kin. Normally, this would be your parents if they are still alive. Alternatively, if you have any siblings, they would be next in line to inherit your estate. Otherwise, your estate would pass to increasingly more distant relatives, such as your cousins, nieces or nephews.

New rules of intestacy pondered in House of Lords

Similarly, it’s also worth noting that a proposal is currently going through the House of Lords regarding intestacy. In essence, it would change the rules governing inheritance tax for cohabiting siblings. Under the proposals, cohabiting siblings in all parts of Great Britain would be able to leave their estates to each other.

Moreover, they can do so without incurring any inheritance tax regardless of the size of the estate. To qualify, the siblings must live together at some point for at least seven years. Additionally, the surviving sibling would have to be over the age of 30.

We highlight this because it’s a long-overdue step in the right direction. In short, it acknowledges that many people are now unable to buy a home on their own. Accordingly, they have to pool resources with someone else (a sibling, perhaps) simply to be able to afford it

But these rules of intestacy don’t go far enough

In particular, these proposals would not change the inheritance tax rules governing cohabiting couples. Therefore, say you do leave a will that left your estate to your cohabiting partner. Regardless, they would still pay inheritance tax at a rate of 40% on the value of the estate above £325,000.

We now live in a society may choose to live together without marriage or entering into a civil partnership. We would argue that the law is not keeping up with and reflecting society. It should do.

Therefore, it is important to ensure you draw up a will to make sure that your estate splits how you want it to split. This is particularly important if you and your partner live together and the home is in your name. As such, your partner may then have no legal right to continue living there.

This would still be the case, even if your partner contributes to paying the bills and mortgage on the property. That’s because the law would only tackle the name on the deeds of the property. In addition, the rules on statutory legacy also mean that your partner has no right to claim any items of sentimental value either.

The Importance of a Clear Will

Avoid what would likely be a lengthy legal wrangle. In short, your partner would need to provide extensive proof that they made contributions towards

  • paying the mortgage and;
  • the upkeep of the property in order to simply recoup the amount they put into the estate’s value

It’s important then to draw up a will that details exactly who you want to have the different parts that make up your estate. You can even specify that certain people can certain individual possessions. Otherwise, your surviving family member, spouse or civil partner may end up in a legal dispute over who gets what.

If your partner dies intestacy or you feel that you have grounds to dispute an estate, act now. Just contact The Inheritance Experts by filling in the contact form on our website or by calling 0161 413 8763.

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