Will being contested

[nunsflipflop]

I have name changed as the details can be outing for the person concerned.
My friends father recently passed away. He left a Will leaving everything to said friend Barr a small amount for grandchildren. He had another child that he had been NC for about 6 years, he disinherited her. They came to uneasy truce but he never forgave what had happened and actually told the child he had written them out of the will.
He has died, the will has been produced, probate granted and some assets have been liquidated and shared as per the will.
The other child has now contested the will, stating that the late parent had said she was to be given half of everything. No evidence at all to prove that.
I believe that in the solicitors letter my friend received, they mentioned a previous Will that her father had made with her mother. This will was executed by the father when the mother died a long time ago.

This situation has made my friend very I’ll, she has struggled to find a solicitor to help her.
Can the will be challenged on hearsay?

She can't win solely on the basis that mum would have left it to her though. Not when mum actually left it to dad. Unless there was some financial dependency, that made it dad's money to do with as he chose.

So, the only claim would be if it's not properly executed and if that were the case I'm sure they would have said.

Neither of them inherited from their DM though

My grandmother and step grandad (4th husband) had mirror wills, everything to be split between my dad and brother. Step grandad didn't have any children.
Grandmother died, everything passed to step grandad.

He changed the mirror will after a great nephew showed himself.
The house that my dad and brother grew up in, they stood to inherit half each. By the time step grandad died, he had written his great nephew and his daughter into the will.
My dad and brother put a stop on the will (a legal term I forget) whilst they had solicitors check the legality of it.

Long and short. The will stood and they got a quarter each with 2 people my gran had never met and who didn't even attend the man's funeral.

Had a very tearful conversation with her today. She has appointed a solicitor who has reassured her that the will is water tight, and they will now help her to see this claim to its conclusion.

Thankyou to all that gave me some advice

I do think the father's will is disrespectful to the late mother and feel at a minimum your friend should consider giving a quarter to her sister.

My parents (and my husband and I) have mirror wills, and the assumption we all have is it means the surviving spouse will be looked after and get to make decisions about their own needs and care, and whatever is left will go to the children.

Nobody assumes their spouse will fall out with one of their children and cut them out. It seems pretty clear the mother wasn't intending on cutting both children out when she wrote her will.

To be honest I would hope the sister does have some recourse on that point, and think your friend would be wise to settle from an emotional and moral point of view.