Every year, a growing number of people find themselves in a situation where there is a disagreement after someone has passed away about the deceased's estate.
Senior members of the team at Wake Smith, Nick Lambert and Stephen Thompson, have more than 30 years’ experience each dealing with cases in this area and are regularly consulted in relation to all manner of disputes arising after a bereavement.
Here Nick Lambert, chairman of Wake Smith and a specialist litigation solicitor looks at the main issues relating to this subject including challenging the validity of the will, distribution of the estate, ownership of property, fall outs between, and with, executors and badly drafted wills.
Nick said: “The range of disputes that we cover is endless, but there are certain issues that crop up time and again with this subject.
“A challenge to the validity of the will normally takes the form of an allegation that the will was not correctly signed or witnessed, or that the person making the will did not have the necessary mental capacity to understand what he or she was doing when the will was made.
“Other challenges may argue that improper pressure was brought on the person making the will, normally by a family member or carer, which influenced the person making the will or that the person making the will did not know, and approve of, its contents.
“There can of course be any combination of the above allegations brought in any one case and these can also be accompanied by the allegation of fraud.
“With regards to distribution of the estate, the law gives certain family members and dependents the right to claim for a share of the estate, regardless of whether the deceased left a will or not. Facts in each case must be taken on their own merit and the rules around these challenges are very complicated.
“Cases like these, more often than not, will be motivated by the relevant family member feeling that he or she has been treated unfairly by the deceased when another beneficiary has received much more.
“For example, a claim might be brought by a child who has been cut out of a parents will or left much less than his or her brother or sister, or a charity or anyone else. We also see many claims from a spouse/partner who feels that the deceased’s will, or lack of one, means that reasonable financial provision has not been made.
“These cases always need careful and experienced handling as there are a number of traps to avoid. Such a claim must be brought within 6 months of the grant of representation to the estate and they also need a certain amount of sensitivity, something which we lawyers are not especially noted for, because they pit family members against each other and thus tend to be quite emotionally charged.
“Property-related arguments also occur quite regularly and can involve any property said to be owned by the deceased. It is not uncommon for a dependent or partner to allege that they put money into the property, directly or indirectly, and argue entitlement to a share of it.
“Disputes also arise between executors about decisions needing to be made. One executor might not agree with what the other wants to do, or it might be that another family member or relative doesn’t agree with what the executors want to do.
“Often those dependents or family members who aren’t involved as executors feel they have a right to know more about what is happening, sometimes taking the view that something unfair has happened.
“Finally, and increasingly nowadays, wills can be drawn up by any non-qualified will writer. We regularly come across wills that are defective in some way which affects their validity or wills that have been very badly drafted meaning they are vague or that the wishes of the person that made the will may have not been properly recorded. It is always worth considering a claim against the person that drafted the will in such circumstances.
“Dealing with the administration of an estate can be stressful. We always look for the most practical and beneficial solution to clients’ concerns.
“If you think that you may have a situation that falls into this area or with which we can assist, please contact us today. It is important to seek specialist legal advice as soon as possible.”
For further advice on this type of dispute contact Nick Lambert, litigation solicitor at Wake Smith on 0114 266 6660 or at [email protected]
