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Contesting a Will

England and Wales start from testamentary freedom: you can leave your estate to whoever you like, and being treated unfairly is not by itself a ground to challenge a will. Successful challenges fall into two families — attacks on the validity of the will itself, and claims for reasonable financial provision by people the law says should have been considered. The second has a six-month deadline that is unforgiving. Call 07476 557650 free, any hour — and a one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor (£145, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

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Six months from the grant of probate to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. Miss it and you need the court's permission, which is not readily given. If you are considering a claim, register a caveat or take advice immediately — not after the estate has been distributed.

Contesting a Will at a glance

Six months from the grant

The deadline for a family provision claim under the 1975 Act — strictly applied

Unfair is not a ground

Testamentary freedom means a will can be unfair and still valid

Validity grounds

Lack of capacity, want of knowledge and approval, undue influence, improper execution, forgery

Who can claim provision

Spouses, former spouses, children, cohabitants of two years, and others being maintained

A caveat buys time

Entering a caveat prevents a grant being issued while matters are investigated

Challenging the will itself

A will can be set aside if the person lacked testamentary capacity when they made it — the legal test asks whether they understood the nature of making a will, the extent of their property and the claims they ought to consider, and it is not the same as having a diagnosis. Other grounds are want of knowledge and approval, where the person did not truly understand what they were signing, undue influence, which means coercion and is notoriously hard to prove because the witness is dead, improper execution where the formalities of signing and witnessing were not met, and forgery. Medical records, the solicitor's attendance notes and the circumstances of the will's preparation are where these cases are decided. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Claims for reasonable financial provision

The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 lets specified people ask the court for reasonable financial provision from an estate: spouses and civil partners, former spouses who have not remarried, children of any age, people treated as children of the family, cohabitants who lived with the deceased as a couple for at least two years before the death, and anyone else being maintained by them. For everyone except a spouse the standard is provision for maintenance, not a fair share, and adult children in particular must usually show real financial need rather than disappointment. The court weighs the applicant's resources and needs, the size of the estate, obligations the deceased had, and any disability. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

The practicalities that decide outcomes

Move quickly. Entering a caveat at the Probate Registry prevents a grant being issued while you investigate, and it is the standard first step where validity is in question. Gather the medical records, the will file from the solicitor who prepared it — which can be obtained — and evidence of the relationship and of financial dependency. Then be realistic about cost: these disputes are expensive, they consume the estate that everyone is arguing over, and the overwhelming majority settle at mediation. Costs risk is real, and a losing claimant can end up paying the estate's costs as well as their own. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

If you want to challenge a will, step by step

Act inside six months of the grantFor family provision claims this deadline is close to absolute.

Consider a caveat if validity is in questionIt stops a grant issuing while you investigate.

Get the medical records and the will fileThese cases are decided on documents, not on how it felt. Call 07476 557650 free, any hour — and a one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor (£145, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

Contesting a Will — your questions answered

My father left me nothing. Can I contest the will?

Possibly, but not simply because it is unfair — England and Wales allow people to leave their estate as they choose. As an adult child you could bring a claim under the 1975 Act for reasonable financial provision, but you would generally need to show real financial need rather than disappointment, and the court weighs your resources against the estate and the other beneficiaries. Alternatively, if there is genuine doubt about capacity or undue influence, that is a different and stronger route. Six months from the grant, either way.

What if the will was signed when they had dementia?

A diagnosis does not automatically invalidate a will — capacity is assessed at the moment the will was made and is task-specific, so someone with dementia may still have had testamentary capacity on a good day, particularly if a solicitor assessed them at the time. The evidence that decides it is the medical records around that date and the attendance notes of whoever prepared the will. Both can be obtained, and both should be before anyone commits to litigation.

We lived together but never married. Can I claim?

You may be able to, if you lived together as a couple in the same household for at least two years immediately before the death, or if you were being maintained by them. The award is for maintenance rather than an equal share, and the six-month deadline from the grant applies. This is one of the most important protections for unmarried partners, who otherwise inherit nothing automatically — and it is frequently discovered too late.