Challenging a will or contesting probate can be done cheaply and effectively on a No Win No Fee basis. But many people are unaware of this fact.

We are contacted regularly by bereaved and concerned individuals who need to challenge the terms of a will or to contest probate, but have no idea about the costs that they will face.

Often, we are able to relieve those concerns because we are able to refer those clients to specialist Contested Probate and Will Challenge Solicitors who are prepared to act on a no-win no fee basis, which means those clients are not charged for legal fees at all.

Perhaps it’s best to put this into perspective. Many solicitors only undertake Will Challenge cases on a privately paying basis…

The starting point of the majority of contested probate cases is to find out what is contained in the Will-maker’s last Will. Securing a copy is therefore essential.

Before probate is granted:

Check the Will-maker’s property.

The first port of call, if you are able, is the Will-maker’s home. Make a careful search of all paperwork. Many people keep an original copy of their will in their home. The will might be an open document, or it might be sealed in an envelope. It might be a 1-page “do it yourself” document that the Will-maker download from the internet or purchased from a stationary office. It might be a professionally drafted document produced by a solicitor. …

Have you been promised that you will ultimately receive a share of a farm? Have you been denied that fair share despite devoting significant effort to working on the farm? Do you need to challenge a will to secure what you deserve?

Our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors specialise in contesting a will, particularly where they concern the inheritance of family farms. They have acted for numerous clients who grafted for years, sometimes decades, on their parents’ farms because they were promised a share of the farm as an inheritance, but for one reason or another have since been denied their promised benefit. They have assisted clients to challenge a will, and in some instances, challenge the effects of the laws of intestacy.

A growing trend

If you are affected by these issues, then you are not alone. In recent times, there has…

A forged or fraudulent Will will always be invalid.

The term “forged will” tends to be used to refer to circumstances where the will maker’s signature has been forged. The term “fraudulent will” tends to be used when the entire document has been manufactured without the purported will makers knowledge or consent.

It is usually necessary to obtain expert evidence to prove that a will is fraudulent or has been forged. …

It may be possible to challenge a will by alleging that the document was revoked by the will maker during his lifetime. An increasing number of claimants are contesting a will, in circumstances where one person seeks to administer an estate utilising a will that another person believes to have been cancelled by the will maker.

The terms of the will are never truly fixed until the will-maker has died. This is because the will-maker his always free to change the terms of his will whenever he wants. Even if the will is stated to be irrevocable (i.e. capable of being changed again) can nevertheless be revoked and replaced with a new will (or the laws of intestacy).

A will can be revoked in a number of different ways. Some of these methods are entirely down to the choice of the will-maker, whilst others simply operate because the law says so.

Destruction

A Will is revoked if…

It is not unusual for a divorcee to expect to receive provision from the estate of their former partner.

Unfortunately, there is generally no justification for this expectation, and therefore some of the applicable rules tend to come as a shock to the surviving (former) spouse.

If the divorced partner died without leaving a valid will, the laws of intestacy will prevent the survivor from receiving anything at all. The laws of intestacy make provision for existing relationships and not former relationships. Further, if the former partner did make a will after the divorce, it would hardly be surprising if that will failed to provide for the survivor. If the will was made prior to the divorce, then any terms within that will which make provision for the spouse are deemed by law to have been revoked by the divorce. …

What can you do if your partner, to whom you are not married but with whom you have been living, dies unexpectedly and either failed to make provision for you in his or her will, or died without ever making a will?

Whilst the age old general rules of law do not provide you with an answer, there is a array of hope that enables an unmarried partner to seek to become a beneficiary of the deceased’s estate.

It is a sad fact that society moves at a faster pace than the law does, and the law struggles to keep up. Law students learn of “sociological jurisprudence” which maintains that the law is adaptive to society’s needs. Society has a problem, and the law subsequently provides a solution. …

Here are some examples of cases C-PAID can help with. In each case, the solicitors were able to successfully claim on behalf of the client.

Inheritance Dispute — Failure to provide for a child

When Rachel and her sister, Stacey, were growing up, their father Peter assured them that he had made a will that shared his estate equally between them. Following a family argument, Peter fell out with Rachel and refused to speak to her again. Rachel tried to make friends with her father, but he rejected her attempts. After Peter’s death, Rachel discovered that Peter had changed his will so that he only made provision for Stacey. This left Rachel in financial difficulties because ill health had prevented her from working. Rachel was able to bring a contentious probate case against Peter’s…