Has anyone ever challenged a will?

[Coldwine75]

Hi

Don't want to give details but may need to make a claim or contest a will of someone who passed. I have heard its a long process, can be stressful etc, hoping for no win no fee if do proceed.
Just wondering if anyone out there has been through it?
Am i unreasonable to do so, even if the person was estranged from the deceased .

Thanks, cant go into detail but will have a free half hour chat with a solicitor,

Just wondering really if anyone has done this and won,

Are there medical records to support not being of sound mind?

When disputing a Will and making this type of claim, evidence will be needed to prove that the person writing the Will was not of sound mind. This might include prescriptions for psychiatric medication, records of residing at a psychiatric hospital, changing power of attorney, or proof they had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

www.debenhamsottaway.co.uk/services/litigation-dispute-resolution-solicitors/contested-wills-trusts-inheritance-disputes/disputing-a-will/will-made-someone-not-sound-mind/

Why were they estranged? How long had they been estranged

So the person, who you've said is estranged from the deceased, should have some claim on the money / estate...why exactly?

hoping for no win no fee if do proceed.

If you lose will you be liable for the other party’s legal fees? Does ‘no win, no fee’ only apply to your own fees?

I don't understand 'no win no fee'. You expect your legal fees to come from the estate if you win? So whatever the legal cost (which would run into thousands) would be taken from your share ? Or do you expect all beneficaries to share those costs?

The bar for capacity is quite low for wills. You could try to argue they lacked knowledge or approval. Unlikely to be able to claim for support unless you are a spouse, were being supported by them or they promised you something which you relied on to your detriment. You would be at risk on legal costs and if you lost you could be liable for their costs too. Litigation is always stressful and expensive wouldn’t enter into it lightly.

The 'no win no fee' tend to rinse people dry and take a huge percentage if you win.

My mum spent 2 years and £30k in legal fees contesting my dad’s will, after he left everything to his mistress of 6 months. She didn’t get anywhere with it and they were still married when he died. He was diagnosed with bipolar and off his meds when he died, it wasn’t sufficient to be considered that he had a lack of capacity. It was an incredibly difficult time for all the family and I wouldn’t do it again.

Thank you, i think perhaps we need to just forget this idea and move on, needed some opinions or experiences to decide that.

You would need actual/medical evidence that the person was not of sound mind.

A solicitor would be unlikely to draw up a will if they felt it was fraudulent, although it's not impossible.

If this is a long the lines of, "my DF got remarried after divorcing DM, SM didn't like me and led to estrangement, and now he has died he left it all to her, " you are very unlikely to get far.

Public policy to not make this easy otherwise every aggrieved relative could crawl out of woodwork and it wouldn’t be worth making a will if it can be set aside jyst because someone else thinks it’s “unfair”.

You will get loads of people on here telling you are immoral to even think of contesting a will and that it is impossible. It is not impossible because I did it. I went to mediation rather than court, which is much cheaper. In my case the deceased was ill with dementia and the will was a farce but it was executed at a solicitor's office and signed by two members of staff there. It took four years and I racked up quite a lot of costs - which I got back from the estate - and it was very stressful but it was worth it. I would do it again.

When a friend's dad died, she was upset to discover that he'd left everything to his 2nd wife in his will and nothing to my friend or her brother.
The 2nd wife has her own DCs from her 1st marriage, so when she dies (and she's only in her early 50s so probably not for decades yet) her children will be the likely beneficiaries of her estate.

My friend considered contesting the will (especially as her dad had always promised her that she could have certain items of his when he died) but decided against it, as both she and her brother were independent adults and they felt they would be bound to lose.

@Chisandbiscuits

You will get loads of people on here telling you are immoral to even think of contesting a will and that it is impossible. It is not impossible because I did it. I went to mediation rather than court, which is much cheaper. In my case the deceased was ill with dementia and the will was a farce but it was executed at a solicitor's office and signed by two members of staff there. It took four years and I racked up quite a lot of costs - which I got back from the estate - and it was very stressful but it was worth it. I would do it again.

Literally no one on this thread has said the OP is immoral

Just pointed out the medical evidence needed and some of the challenges

@80sMum

This happened to me recently, and when step parent died it went to her nieces/nephews as she didn’t even have her own children. She never once mentioned doing it and was a major shock.

@80sMum

We also didn’t contest and would cost loads. My childhood stuff (not even worth any money) wasn’t even given back.

Contesting a will is tiring and takes a lot of evidence building. You need more than ‘it just isn’t fair’.

If you think they were coerced into the changing of the will then you need to state your reasons why, your evidence for this and who done it. Were they being blackmailed/brain washed?

Same goes for lack of mental capacity. Is there medical documents documenting lack of mental capacity near end of life at the time the will was changed or is your argument for this that the person was old? You need to build an air tight story with layers of proof. The courts don’t usually go against someone’s wishes unless you can prove that really, what’s listed in the will wasn’t there wishes.

Lots of times when a person is old or close to death and then know it, they really examine their life and make changes last minute- it’s not uncommon.

How long had the person been estranged and are they a child of the deceased? Were there multiple beneficiaries in the will or just one? Can you contest on the grounds that for e.g. a child more entitled to estate than new wife or partner?

With so many blended families and second and third wives these days I think there will be a lot of disgruntled children in the future. Probably messy if something like that.

@Painandmore

How long had the person been estranged and are they a child of the deceased? Were there multiple beneficiaries in the will or just one? Can you contest on the grounds that for e.g. a child more entitled to estate than new wife or partner?

No

@Chisandbiscuits except nobody did that.

Which country are we talking about? The testator? You?

I work for a charity which receives legacies and we sometimes get involved in disputes over wills. In some circumstances courts do order legacies be made to relatives who have not been named in wills. For instance if the deceased had two children, child a who was financially successful, and had not been involved with the care of the deceased duirng their final illness, and child b who had cared for the deceased and had no income. In these circumstances if the will left everything to child a then child b would have a good chance of successfully challenging it. This would not necessarily mean they got half the estate but courts do pay attention to the financial circumstances of beneficiaries when looking at such cases.

WaltzingBetty you can challenge a will on those grounds in my country but I don't know where the OP is.