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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Has anyone ever challenged a will?

117 replies

Coldwine75 · 03/05/2021 13:31

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 .

OP posts:
Original poster
Coldwine75 · 03/05/2021 14:39

UK

OP posts:
MrsClatterbuck · 03/05/2021 14:41

I think that you have to say why you are cutting or removing someone from a will to make contesting it less likely to succeed. This probably just applies to close family and not far out relatives. You really need to consult a solicitor to get advice.

tara66 · 03/05/2021 14:47

I don't think the case of Nigel Havers (the actor) has been mentioned. His second wife died and left her house ( which was marital home) to her 2 sons by previous marriage. Havers contested the Will on the grounds that ''he had not been provided for'' and got everything. His father had been Lord Chief Justice and brother - a barrister. Regarding the ''no win, no fee'' myth legal fees - you do know generally speaking if you win, the fees taken are doubled what they would normally have been?

longtompot · 03/05/2021 14:55

@Chisandbiscuits

You will get loads of people on here telling you are immoral to even think of contesting a will Hmm 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.
Did you get medical evidence to say he was not of sound mind? An in law is probably going to contest a parents will they have been written out of, even though this parent when changing their will went through a solicitor and write a covering letter as to why they were doing it. One route we think they might take is whether they were of sound mind, but all the medical professionals we saw said they were when we were trying to get them help.
Himsy · 03/05/2021 15:05

Aw, OP, I can, sadly, totally empathise, and was in a similar situation only a few weeks ago.

I don't think we have much of a leg to stand on though. I dropped mine, drew a line under it, moving on. (I have a thread on here from the time. I'll go update it!).

Life is unfair. Many people are absolutely horrible. My own (now-deceased) father included. I'm sorry you're put in this position. It stings, doesn't it.

aibubaby · 03/05/2021 15:16

If the person was estranged from the deceased, I'm not sure why you think they'd have been in the will anyway?

You can contest it but given that they were estranged, I think you'll struggle.

Babygotblueyes · 03/05/2021 15:23

Agree with the comment above - if there is an estrangement I think it would be hard to claim, whatever your feelings about fairness are. The fact is that unless there is fraud, the money someone leaves behind is their money to do with what they want. The Nigel Havers case is a little different since it concerned the marital home and he was still married when she died.

HyacynthBucket · 03/05/2021 15:40

I am not a lawyer, but I think that not being of sound mind may not be the only grounds to contest it. My brothers and I were disinherited when we were children. My step grandmother (my mother's stepmother) who had no children of her own, left her estate to be divided between my mother and the three of us, but after she died it was found that she had changed her will shortly before her death. The reason was that a relative came to see her when she was ill, and persuaded her to leave her estate to her. My grandmother was of sound mind, but old and ill in hospital, and was taken advantage of by a greedy and uncaring person who was also a forceful character. It was clear that she had been put under undue pressure to make the change. It may even have been forged. Looking back, I wish my mother had contested this, but she chose not to.

Jocasta2018 · 03/05/2021 15:41

I think they've got the right idea in France when it comes to biological children.
I believe in French law, a will drawn up in France gives the children rights to the estate regardless of what the will says.

Given the amount of 2nd & 3rd families in the UK, it might be a good law to bring in over here!

EdwinPootsLovesArchaeology · 03/05/2021 15:43

@Coldwine75

UK
Rules in Scotland different from England
fabulousathome · 03/05/2021 15:43

www.wga.co.uk/blog/have-inheritance-disputes-increased-yes

Some recent cases on here might be relevant.

2bazookas · 03/05/2021 15:57

My stepfather challenged my mother's Will. I defended it and won. I didn't employ a lawyer, just did it myself.
It took months, was quite stressful and unpleasant.

MyOctopusFeature · 03/05/2021 16:07

If you believe you have been wronged by a coercer, you need to be driven enough to inflict damage on them and not expect to recover anything financially unless the estate is worth at least a few low millions. Challenging Wills is costly and time consuming and the fees you pay will likely outweigh any potential award. It will be a war of attrition between both sides and that is the best you can hope for.

Briarshollow · 03/05/2021 16:16

An estranged member of my family contested my great uncle’s will. His son. He also decided that my great uncle’s will ‘wasn’t fair’ also as he didn’t get what he thought was rightly his. He was deliberately left out of it. He contested it, he lost. But he refused to accept that as he spent a lot of money fighting it.

And so he then proceeded to bully a vulnerable member of the family who was a beneficiary into handing over their bequest to him. He felt justified because he saw it all as his anyway.

Fortunately, we fought them at every turn when they contested it and we won, and we then got the police involved when he started being an absolute cunt about it.

I don’t understand the mentality of thinking entitled to overrule the person who has died and entitled to a slice of the estate they worked hard to amass.

Do you have evidence or just a hopeful suspicion they were coerced into changing it? If you do, I suggest you go down that line. If not, I wouldn’t advise wasting money to try to get hold of money.

Painandmore · 03/05/2021 16:17

@Jocasta2018

I think they've got the right idea in France when it comes to biological children. I believe in French law, a will drawn up in France gives the children rights to the estate regardless of what the will says. Given the amount of 2nd & 3rd families in the UK, it might be a good law to bring in over here!
Same in other EU countries. I'm in an unusual position in that my father's estate is probably about 2 million (euros). He is not divorced from my mother however they have had a legal separation and my mother got the family home and a payout of some sort. The new lady and my father have lived together for 25 years but obviously are not married. Under law where I'm from, she now has common law wife rights I think. No idea how much of a claim that gives her to my father's estate. My father has 3 children with my mother and none with his current partner of 25 odd years, though she has two children of her own. It is rather unusual and my father is likely to live to the age of Methuselah so it's probably irrelevant to me. The tradition is also to give the eldest child (I'm not the eldest) all of the property from the father however my mother has said that should that happen, I could contest the will. I think that may be wishful thinking on her part but I have never studied law and it's possible his current partner could get everything. I therefore don't bank on anything as either way, I doubt I will get anything as myself and my father can have a tempestuous relationship at times. When I am happy happy happy he's fine with me. When I challenge him in any way, I get cut off and insulted. To be honest, he can shove his millions up his ass as far as I'm concerned. It would annoy me if his partner's children inherit my birth right but I'm not going to lose sleep over it. My mother contributed to his building of his little fortune, but the law is complicated now and changing due to divorce and common law wife thing.
Painandmore · 03/05/2021 16:23

In essence, I think someone can leave everything to anyone in England. They can exclude people (even children). Without knowing your jurisdiction within the UK and the actual details of the relationship with the deceased of the person who was excluded and also knowing who was left his estate, I think nobody here could possibly begin to answer.

ChekhovsWorkshoppedShooter · 03/05/2021 16:29

@Coldwine75

UK
England, Wales, NI or Scotland? Bloody hell this is like drawing teeth.
RoseMartha · 03/05/2021 16:30

Time frame wise can take a long time. I know someone who is contesting a Will and so far it has been going on three years, no end in sight.

I would get legal advice first and see what the position is and go from there.

ItsCokeFFS · 03/05/2021 17:23

If you only have a half hour consultation, please try and get your thoughts in order and use actual "facts/evidence" rather than "it's not fair".

DrSbaitso · 03/05/2021 17:29

If wills had to be fair, there would literally be no point having them; a judge would just divvy up the estate each time depending on what was "fair". The entire point is that you can distribute your estate however you like.

Painandmore · 03/05/2021 17:51

@DrSbaitso

If wills had to be fair, there would literally be no point having them; a judge would just divvy up the estate each time depending on what was "fair". The entire point is that you can distribute your estate however you like.
Only in some countries. As another poster has pointed out, some European countries such as France and Italy don't really have the practice of wills. Everything is split equally among children. Laws are changing all the time and you can have new wives or partners, new children with a new partner etc. and that is when it gets complicated. OP is not going to disclose anything though so not much point trying to help her.
Painandmore · 03/05/2021 17:52

She has decided that there is no point in contesting the will so that's the end of this story.

DrSbaitso · 03/05/2021 18:08

As another poster has pointed out, some European countries such as France and Italy don't really have the practice of wills. Everything is split equally among children.

So...they don't have wills? That's what I'm saying; they exist to allow you to be unfair if that's what you want. No need for them otherwise.

Though it becomes a massive headache if someone dies intestate...

Painandmore · 03/05/2021 18:17

@DrSbaitso

As another poster has pointed out, some European countries such as France and Italy don't really have the practice of wills. Everything is split equally among children.

So...they don't have wills? That's what I'm saying; they exist to allow you to be unfair if that's what you want. No need for them otherwise.

Though it becomes a massive headache if someone dies intestate...

Not that I'm aware of. Everything goes to the spouse then the children and is divided equally among the children. Catholic countries in particular seem to ave kept those laws of inheritance.
Painandmore · 03/05/2021 18:20

It totally depends on where in the UK the OP is as the law varies and what relationship she or the aggrieved party has to the deceased. Who has inherited would also be a factor as that can be contested in some cases. A no-win-no-fee place is a good place to start as they will not take a case unless they're confident they will win. Then you could decide to take the case with your own solicitor and pay fees. It's a gamble really, not knowing any detail. Not sure why she bothered asking as she has given no information and has decided to have a 'free half hour' with a solicitor lol.