Contentious Probate

[Wiggy1467]

My 96 year old aunt recently passed away and two of my sisters, sister (A) and sister (B) are joint executrix.

Sister (B) with support of the rest of the siblings are considering contesting the will which was recently changed whilst our aunt was living with sister (A) greatly altering the share of her estate in favour of sister (A).

Within the will, there is the following statement:-

"References to Testamentary Expenses

References to testamentary expenses include all of the expenses incurred in obtaining a grant of probate for my Estate, such as:
a) the costs of any action that my Trustees need to take, including necessary legal proceedings;"

Would this cover the cost of the legal expenses of sister (B) as she wishes to contest the will.

[des8]

Condolences on the loss of your aunt.

When you say your "sister B" wishes to contest the will, do you mean she intends to challenge its validity or to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for family and Dependants) Act 1975?

Costs are at the discretion of the court, and the losing party could be ordered to pay the costs incurred by the winning party.

Should really consult a solicitor specialising in contentious probate before proceding further.
An initial fixed fee (or even free) consultation to discover if such a challenge is viable and if so how to fund it , wotld be worth while

[jetbrains]

It's also important to consider the value of the estate. Legal proceedings can cost 10s of thousands if not more, even for the most simplest issues ( currently I'm in the process of removing a PR to an estate due to quite obvious fraudulent activity as well as it now taking over 4 years for them to administer the estate ). We received little push back from the defendant, maybe a letter here or there and have racked up costs of over 40K before the judge even giving direction.