Challenging or Contesting a Will

Anyone can leave their money and belongings to whom they wish in their Will, but on occasion disputes do arise over the validity of the Will.

At Gorvins Solicitors we have recognised will, trusts and estate dispute specialists who can help you deal with an estate dispute. We will always work with you to make sure you understand the options you have open to you.

To discuss an estate dispute or for more information about an issue you are experiencing contact a member of the specialist wills dispute team on 0161 930 5151, e-mail willdisputesteam@gorvins.com or fill in the enquiry form and we will call you straight back.

Gorvins Approach to Contesting a Will

The specialist will and estate dispute team at Gorvins can provide advice and support if:

1. You are an executor or beneficiary on a Will that is being challenged
2. You wish to challenge the will or estate of a recently deceased family or friend

Both of these situations can be very difficult to be involved in and it is important that you seek legal advice, so that you understand the law relating to this area and, if necessary, to help you to defend your position.

There are a number of reasons why a Will or estate can be challenged. These include:

• The Will has been badly drafted or is invalid– if the Will has not been drafted and signed correctly it may be invalid and you may be able to contest the Will on the grounds that it has not been executed properly.
• The deceased didn’t understand what they were signing – If your loved one was suffering from dementia or another illness affecting their mental capacity, you may be concerned that they didn’t understand what they were signing.
• The deceased was being influenced by someone else – You might have reason to believe that the deceased was under undue influence from someone else and that left to their own devices they would have made a different decision about how and whom to leave their estate.
• The Will is fraudulent – It is unusual, but there have been cases where fraudulent Wills have been created in order to hide the existence of the real Will and favour different beneficiaries.
• The Will could have been negligently drafted – The person drafting the Will may not have been properly qualified and may have provided your loved one with poor advice e.g. will writers or DIY Will kits.

It is important that you seek specialist legal advice as quickly as possible as there are strict time limits on contesting a Will. The first step is to find a copy of the latest Will, which the team at Gorvins can help you with.

How can Gorvins Help?

We want to make things as convenient and stress-free for you as possible. Call the wills and estate disputes team on 0161 930 5151, e-mail willdisputesteam@gorvins.com or fill in our enquiry form to talk about a will dispute and whether our expert team could help.