Understanding disputes regarding Wills and Estates

Disputes regarding Wills are very often complex, time consuming and can be incredibly damaging to family relationships with the propensity to revive historic feuds and long buried resentment.

Expectation and disappointment. It is easy to see why a disappointed beneficiary or person excluded from a Will against their expectations may seek to challenge and set aside the deceased’s Will.

Challenges to the validity of Wills can also be incredibly costly to the parties involved and to the deceased’s estate and therefore the merits of achieving a swift and cost efficient outcome are abundantly clear.

Chartered Legal Executive, Associate, Karl Medd, discusses below a scenario based, with some artistic licence, upon two cases with which he has been involved with in the recent past:

Tom and Sarah were happily married for over 30 years. Unfortunately, Sarah died unexpectedly in 2007.  Tom continued to live alone in their marital home, and he was comfortably well off, however he was no great cook or housekeeper and therefore needed some help from time to time. Approximately 8 years ago, Tom engaged the services of Lucy to do some cleaning and cooking for him.

Tom and Sarah had their sons, James and Oliver, both of whom left the family home a number of years ago, they both married and moved to different cities. They visited Tom at various times of the year, however they were not around to help him day to day.

Roughly 6 years ago Tom started to become a bit forgetful at times, this transpired to be the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.  Around the same time, Tom began to rely on help from his neighbour, Michael, with gardening, DIY etc.

Tom and Sarah had mirror Wills at the time of her death. Approximately 1 year after her death (2008), Tom amended his Will, leaving his estate to James and Oliver in equal shares.

In 2019, Tom amended his Will again, this time deciding to give 20% of his estate to Lucy in gratitude for her help. The remaining 80% of the estate was split equally between James and Oliver.

As time progressed, Tom’s health deteriorated. He became more reliant upon help from Lucy and Michael. In 2023, he decided that he wanted to reward them for their help and amended his Will again, this time giving a 30% share of his estate each to Lucy and Michael with the remaining 40% split equally between James and Oliver.

Unfortunately, Tom passed away last month.

James and Oliver received letters from John, their father’s executor, advising them that they were to receive a gift of 20% of Tom’s estate, which was fairly substantial.

Having compared notes, James and Oliver were shocked to discover that their combined legacy amounted to only 40% of the estate. They decide to lodge a ‘caveat’ with the Probate Registry, the effect of which is to prevent probate being granted in respect of the 2023 Will. They also instructed a solicitor to write to John to instigate a challenge to the validity of the last two Wills, mainly on the basis that Tom lacked testamentary capacity in 2019 and 2023 due to Alzheimer’s. They also allege that Tom had been subject to undue influence by Lucy and Michael to amend his Will in their favour. 

Clearly, it is in the interests of James and Oliver to try to set aside the 2023 Will and if possible, the 2019 Will too to increase the size of their shares of the estate and set aside the gifts to Lucy and Michael.

Where a Will is “… duly executed and appears rational on its face, then a court will assume capacity”. We shall assume that this bar is met in the present case meaning that James and Oliver which have to point to evidence which raises a real doubt concerning Tom’s testamentary capacity. They may point to Tom’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and worsening health in his later years in support of their case.

If James and Oliver raise real doubt about capacity, the evidential burden will shift back to John, and by extension, to Lucy and Michael.

Medical evidence is likely to be required from Tom’s GP or an independent medical expert. The Will writer responsible for drafting the Wills in 2019 and 2023 would also have to be satisfied that Tom had testamentary capacity at the time of making them and therefore evidence is also likely to be required from the Will writer as to how they came to the view that Tom had testamentary capacity.

The allegation of undue influence would have to be proved by James and Oliver. Undue influence would require Tom to have been coerced into making a Will that he did not want to make. This is a high burden of proof for James and Oliver to meet and for that reason successful claims based upon undue influence alone are relatively rare. Undue influence is generally argued in tandem with lack of testamentary capacity and want of knowledge and approval.

Let us stir the pot a little further…

1. What if, in addition, Tom and Lucy had fallen in love and married at some point prior to his death? If the Wills 2019 and 2023 were found to be invalid, could Lucy still have a claim against Tom’s estate as his surviving spouse? It is possible that she may have a valid claim to receive financial provision from the estate pursuant to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975.
2. What if Lucy had told Tom, untruthfully, that James had made amorous advances towards her, thereby turning Tom against James and causing him to amend his Will to significantly reduce James’s inheritance or disinherit in him entirely? It could be argued that Lucy’ actions amount to ‘Fraudulent Calumny’ – casting untrue aspersions on the character of a natural beneficiary which causes the testator to change their Will to the detriment of that beneficiary.

Whilst the scenarios set out above are a simplified walk through and do not address other legal points which typically arise, these examples highlight the fascinating legal and factual complexities of contentious probate disputes and demonstrate the need for robust legal advice for a personal representatives facing validity challenges, or beneficiaries, be they disappointed or otherwise.

If you’re facing an inheritance dispute, you can count on us for expert guidance tailored to your situation. Get in touch today to speak with one of our experts.