Inheritance Disputes, Contested Wills, and Trusts Disputes

The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 allows certain people to challenge the provisions of a will — or the rules of intestacy if there is no will — if “reasonable financial provision” has not been made for them.nnThe Act sets out a defined list of eligible applicants, including:nt•tA surviving spouse or civil partnernt•tA former spouse or civil partner (if not remarried)nt•tA cohabiting partner (if they lived together for at least two years before death)nt•tChildren of the deceased (including adult children)nt•tStep-children or others treated as a 'child of the family'nt•tAny person who was being financially maintained by the deceased.nnIn determining whether reasonable financial provision has been made, the court will take a range of factors into account, including the claimant's needs and resources, and any health issues.nnIf the claim succeeds, the court can:nt•tVary the distribution of the estate,nt•tAward a lump sum, ongoing maintenance, or transfer of property.nnWe specialise in Inheritance Act claims. We offer a free initial consultation and no win, no fee funding.

You can make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 if the deceased's will (or intestacy rules if there’s no will) does not make “reasonable financial provision” for you, and you fall within at least one of the folowing categories of claimant: nnt•tYou are a spouse or civil partner of the deceased.nt•tYou are a former spouse/civil partner (if not remarried).nt•tYou lived with the deceased as their partner for at least 2 years before their death.nt•tYou are a child of the deceased (including adult children).nt•tYou have been treated as a child of the family (e.g. stepchild).nt•tYou have been financially maintained by the deceased.nnTo find out if you can make a claim under the Inheritance Act, why not contact us for a free consultation.

The court will look at a range of factors when making its decision. This includes factors such as:nnt•tYour financial needs and resources.nt•tThe needs of other beneficiaries or claimants.nt•tThe size and nature of the estate.nt•tAny obligations or responsibilities the deceased had towards you.nt•tAny disabilities you or other beneficiaries/claimants suffer from.nnFor further guidance on the factors a court will take into consideration when dealing with an Inheritance Act claim, why not contact us for a free consultation.

The time limit for making a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 is 6 months from the date of the Grant of Probate (if there is a will) or the Grant of Letters of Administration (if there is no will).nnAlthough this is a strict deadline the court may grant permission to bring a claim out of time. When considering whether it should exercise its discretion a court will consider:nt•tThe reasons for the delay.nt•tWhether the estate has already been distributed.nt•tThe strength of the claim.nt•tWhether other parties would suffer prejudice if the claim were allowed out of time.nnBecause of these hurdles, it’s much safer to act within the 6-month window.nnSo, if you wish to make an Inheritance Act claim, don't delay. Contact us today for a free consultation.

You may be able to contest a Will on one or more of the following grounds: n•tThe Will does not comply with the formal requirements of section 9 of the Wills Act 1837; n•tThe testator lacked the necessary mental capacity; n•tThe testator lacked knowledge or approval of the contents of their Will; n•tThe testator was subject to undue influence; n•tThe Will is forged/fraudulentnInvalidity challenges can often be made in parallel to an Inheritance Act claim.

For a Will to be deemed valid, the testator (the person who made the Will) will need to have met the formal requirements under section 9, Wills Act 1837-n•tIt needs to be in writingn•tSigned by the testator or some other person in their presence and by their directionn•tIt appears that the testator intended by his signature to give effect to the willn•tThe signature is made or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same timen•tEach witness either needs to attest and sign the will or acknowledge the testator’s signature

This largely depends on the circumstances of each case, but it is generally those who fall within the following categories that may be able to challenge a Will: nn•tThose named as beneficiaries within the Willn•tThose named as beneficiaries in a previous Willn•tDependants of the deceased that have not been named in the Willn•tPeople whom the deceased made a promise (verbal or written) to leave a gift, but who were not named within the Will

TOLATA stands for the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 and relates to legal disputes over the ownership of property. It covers a wide variety of property ownership disputes, including those where there is disagreement over deposit contributions, purchase price contributions, mortgage payments, renovation expenditure, and disputed gifts.

TOLATA disputes most commonly involve:n1. Disputes Between Unmarried CouplesnCohabitee rightsnCommon law marriage mythnSole-name homesnJoint ownership disputesn2. Family Property DisputesnParents and childrennSiblingsnInformal family arrangementsnContributions to purchasesn3. Property Disputes Following a DeathnEstate money used to buy propertynDeceased's contributionsnExecutor claimsnnAnyone adversely affected by such a dispute is likely to be able to bring a claim.

We have a number of options for funding a TOLATA claim. In addition to n working on the standard hourly rate basis, we also offer deferred fee arrangements ,and No Win, No Fee - subject to the merits of the case.

Evidence commonly relied upon in a TOLATA claim includes:nnBank statementsnTransfersnConveyancing filesnTR1 documentationnDeclarations of trustnText messagesnEmailsnWitness evidence

Our success fees are based on an uplift on our costs and are assessed at the outset of your contentious probate claim following a thorough risk assessment. The success fee uplift can be set at anything between 0% to 100% of the costs incurred. Most Conditional Fee Agreement cases typically attract a success fee uplift of 40% to 80% of incurred costs. So, for example, if the success fee uplift is 50%, and you win your case incurring costs of £20,000, then the success fee will be £10,000 ie 50% of £20,000.