Legal Grounds for
Contesting a Will

• Is the Will valid?
• Does the Will make proper provision for you and your dependents?
• Have the Executors or Trustees behaved improperly  or unreasonably?
• Has the Solicitor been negligent in preparing the Will?
• Has the Solicitor been negligent in Administering the Estate?
• Is there a dispute about who owns the property  referred to in the Will?
• Is there some other problem?

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Failure to Provide for Dependents and Family

One of the most frequent reasons for contesting a Will is that it does not make proper financial provisions for the dependants or family of the deceased person.

The Inheritance(Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 makes special provision for those who consider they are entitled to a share, or a greater share, of the estate and want to secure this entitlement by contesting the Will.

This Act protects those who are connected to the deceased but did not receive "reasonable financial provision" from the estate of the deceased via the Will or intestacy.

In order to succeed in contesting a Will on these grounds you must be:

• A spouse or civil partner of the deceased;
• A former spouse or civil partner provided you have not remarried or entered into a new civil partnership;
• A child of the deceased;
• Any person (not being a child of the deceased) who was treated as a 'child of the family' of the deceased;
• Any person being partly or wholly maintained by the deceased.

NB: Time Limit: There is a time limit for contesting a Will. Claims must be made within 6 months of the date of the grant of representation and, ideally, claims should be brought within 6 months of the date of death although the Court does have jurisdiction to allow claims out of time in some circumstances.

A claim can only be made if the deceased died domiciled in England and Wales.