Will being contested

[Gm2015]

A caveat has been entered on will by wife of 2 years who has been left nothing in favour of deceased’s daughter.
Wifes claim via solicitor is lacked mental capacity, no medical evidence of this, under provision for family.
The will was made some weeks before deceased’s demise.

Advice appreciated.
How do we find contentious legal advice?

Thanks

[Peridot]

Hi GM2015,
Sorry to hear of the issues. Are you a beneficiary under the Will? If the deceased's wife has entered a caveat this means a Grant can't be issued until it is removed. The issuing of the Grant doesn't prevent a claim against the estate being made so administration and distribution of the estate would still be delayed until the claim is dealt with.
It sounds like you need a contested probate specialist. Your best bet would be to search you local area for law firms with a private client or wills and probate department and ask who would be best to deal with a contested probate issue. Some firms have lawyers in the private client department who deal with this others have the lawyers attached to the litigation department but they should be able to point you to the right specialist.
Many law firms offer 'deals' for initial appointments so you may be able to get a free half hour or reduced fee initial appointment to discuss the options available.
It may be helpful to prepare a brief synopsis of the situation with a timeline before you see the lawyer so that you can keep on track in the meeting and cover as many things as you can in the time there is.

[Yamaha121]

You could start here, https://www.legal500.com/assets/page...ingdom/uk.html
pick your region on the left then Private client/Contentious trusts and probate

You will then find some local solicitor's who will at least have a dedicated contentious probate department.

I am not saying all good solicitors are part of the legal 500 or all legal 500 members are good but its a
starting point rather than just blind searching.

[charitynjw]

& visit our sister site

[lukewarm]

A caveat has been entered on will by wife of 2 years who has been left nothing in favour of deceased’s daughter.
Wifes claim via solicitor is lacked mental capacity, no medical evidence of this, under provision for family.
The will was made some weeks before deceased’s demise.

Advice appreciated.
How do we find contentious legal advice?

Thanks

I was in exactly the same position as yourself a year or so back.

I am assuming you are the executor.

What I did was this:

1. Let the complainant do all the running .ie let them take all the steps they deem necessary from their position.
2. Don't tell them anything.
3.Take no action until it becomes legal ie court action.
4. If you are sure of your position and that the will is valid - why should you jump into action spending money on solicitors ?
5. In my case I just sat back and let them make all the false accusations (and spend lots of their own money)
6. In the end they took me to court twice and I won on both occasions and I spent nothing - result!

It is all a case of holding your nerve,if you are sure of your position then do nothing.The complainant is trying to get you to react and give them more
ammunition to strengthen their 'case.'

Good luck

[Peridot]

Hi again,
I appreciate Lukewarm's comments from his experience have worked, however it is not always possible to just sit tight, particularly where an estate has potential tax to pay and assets that need to be dealt with. I would suggest finding a good contested probate lawyer if for nothing else at this stage but to get advice on the options available to you. Generally the best way to find a solicitor would be through word of mouth but you can also look on the Law Society website for a contested probate lawyer or on JustBeagle.com as suggested above.

In order to move things on the caveat needs to be removed. There is no reason probate can not be obtained. If his wife wishes to bring a claim she can do. It is generally thought more appropriate to request a standing search which alerts someone to the Grant being issued rather than preventing a Grant being issued which is the effect of the caveat. The person wishing to bring a claim has 6 mths from the date of the Grant in which to bring their claim.

You can give a warning to the person who placed the caveat if their reasons for doing so are unreasonable or unjustified. This link isn't a recommendation of the firm but the article helps explain the caveat process here:- https://anthonygold.co.uk/latest/blo...obate-registry