What kinds of things can be used as justification for challenging a will in the UK?
By: John Garcia | Date Posted: June 27, 2022
Table of Contents
- Testing the Terms of a Will
- You have been overseen in an unjustifiable manner.
- You were ensured of getting something.
- Everything was given to your stepmother, correct?
- The family has been totally cut off from their heritage.[+]
- The person who caused the Will didnât do as such with a sensible understanding of the consequences of their exercises.
- The individual who is setting up the will is put under pressure by someone else to move their fortune with a specific goal in mind.
- Testing a Will since It Was Drafted Fraudulently
- unseemly working strategies
- The inadequate course of action forwards
- Late difficulties in the news
This article explores reasons to challenge a will: being denied rightful inheritance, unfair treatment of parents by family or step-parents, and suspicions of will tampering. It discusses the principles and specific circumstances necessary to successfully contest a will in the United Kingdom.
Testing the Terms of a Will
The question âCan your will be contested?â is common. Any will can potentially face a challenge. Loved ones can contest a will if it doesnât meet their expectations, usually with a solicitorâs assistance who can promptly assess the caseâs likelihood of success. This article details specific grounds for successfully contesting a will and addresses factors that are unlikely to lead to success.
You have been overseen in an unjustifiable manner.
Can a will be contested? This question is frequently asked, and any will can be challenged. Loved ones can contest a will if it doesnât meet their expectations, usually with the help of a solicitor who can quickly assess the chances of success. This article outlines specific reasons for successfully contesting a will and discusses reasons unlikely to succeed.
You were ensured of getting something.
Verbal promises regarding inheritance carry no legal weight. Expressing wishes, like passing down specific items verbally, such as a grandmotherâs wedding ring, at family gatherings is common. However, if the will designates one beneficiary for the entire estate without mentioning specific items, these verbal wishes hold no relevance. Even if a specific item was promised verbally, it does not supersede the provisions of the will. Challenging a will based solely on a verbal promise not documented in the will is not viable.
Everything was given to your stepmother, correct?
Family disputes often arise from inheritance issues. After a motherâs death, the father inherits an estate and later remarries at eighty. The fatherâs children struggle with his much younger new wife and suspect she is after the estate. When the father dies, his will leaves everything to the stepmother, leaving the children with nothing. This happened with Lynda Bellinghamâs estate, where the new wife inherited ÂŁ5 million and lived lavishly, while the children received little. Similarly, Anna Nicole Smith married 88-year-old J. Howard Marshall, who died 14 months later, leaving a billion-pound estate. Such situations alone donât justify successfully contesting a will. If the father felt neglected by his children and saw his new wife as a savior, this might explain his decision. However, other circumstances might make challenging the will more appealing, as discussed in the rest of the article.
The family has been totally cut off from their heritage.
Seniors often alter their wills, sometimes omitting their family and directing their estate to charity, which is legally permissible but not sufficient grounds for a successful will contestation.
The valid reasons for challenging a will are five specific grounds, each carrying a high likelihood of success when adequately proven.
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The person who caused the Will didnât do as such with a sensible understanding of the consequences of their exercises.
In legal terms, âloss of testamentary capacityâ occurs when someone lacks the mental clarity to make a will. The individual must understand they are drafting a will, comprehend its contents, know the total value of their assets, and grasp their social connections as reflected in the document.
For instance, if a will directs all assets to one child despite having multiple children, it may indicate mental incapacity. Age alone does not justify contesting a will, as many elderly people remain mentally sharp well into their 90s. However, proving diminished mental capacity is essential when challenging a will.
An example is Huguette Marcelle Clark, who altered her will at 95 to benefit her family but later changed it to leave significant assets to charity and ÂŁ20 million to her caregiver. Her family contested the will, leading to the court reducing the caregiverâs inheritance to zero.
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The individual who is setting up the will is put under pressure by someone else to move their fortune with a specific goal in mind.
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There are two types of undue influence in will-making: one affecting the person drafting the will through coercion, and another affecting the person signing the will under pressure. âUndue influenceâ occurs when a trusted individual known to the person making the will tries to influence the distribution of the estate.
Signs of undue influence include beneficiaries being present during the will signing, caregivers being added as beneficiaries, and witnesses being close friends of the main beneficiary. In its simplest form, undue influence results in a will that doesnât reflect the personâs true intentions.
While the stepmother inheriting in the example given above isnât sufficient grounds to successfully contest a will, the fact that someone who befriended an elderly individual received a significant inheritance raises questions about whether undue influence was involved.
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Testing a Will since It Was Drafted Fraudulently
The primary method for accomplishing forgery in wills is by forging signatures or modifying the original document, like adding or removing pages. Typewritten wills or updates to handwritten wills are typically executed correctly. However, cases also arise where changes are made to a will by a deceased person based on false information provided to them.
A recent case in the media involved someone physically cutting and pasting a signature onto a will, leading to the perpetrator receiving a severe prison sentence for the forgery
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unseemly working strategies
Will require the presence of two impartial witnesses who are mentally sound individuals not set to inherit anything from the will. Itâs possible to contest a will if the signatures on it are improperly arranged. However, if a beneficiary signs as a witness, it doesnât invalidate the entire will; it simply disqualifies them from benefiting as a witness. Any indication of a witness being a beneficiary would be disregarded in this context unless undue influence is proven.
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The inadequate course of action forwards
There is a misconception that individuals can freely distribute their estate, including excluding their spouse from their will. However, the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 allows close relatives and dependents to contest a will if it fails to provide them with âreasonable financial provision.â This includes spouses or partners, children, former partners who havenât remarried, adopted children, individuals treated as family members, and partners of the deceased for at least two years. Contestants must prove unfair treatment under the will, and a court will decide what constitutes fair provision.
Late difficulties in the news
Recent challenges to celebrity wills, such as George Michaelâs and Lynda Bellinghamâs, highlight common occurrences in will disputes. Prompt action is crucial if suspicions arise. Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, thereâs a six-month deadline for a probate grant to initiate court proceedings. Creating your own will through services like LegalWills.co.uk doesnât increase its challenge likelihood, provided itâs properly executed with witnesses. Excluding direct family from inheritance grants them the right to contest, with a judge determining the caseâs merits.
Thank you for reading!
