Probate litigation in the UK involves legal disputes in a probate court over the validity or terms of a deceased person’s will. Disputes can arise over the executor’s administration of the will, and capacity, undue influence, forgery, revocation, and mistakes can invalidate a will. Heirs may contest the terms of a valid will, and succession disputes can arise over delays, mismanagement, or incompetence. The losing party pays court costs, but exceptions exist. Courts encourage mediation before litigation due to potential costs.
Probate litigation is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer to a legal dispute in a probate court over the will of a deceased person. The dispute could be about whether the will is legally valid or the terms of the will itself. Disputes may also arise over the way the will was administered by its “executor,” the person charged with executing the deceased’s intent with respect to the provisions of the will.
There are cases where a will can be invalid, regardless of what the “testator”, the creator of the will, intended to accomplish in the will. If the testator did not have the ability to understand what he was doing at the time he made the will, the will is void. The capacity problem can involve mental illness, dementia and other infirmities. The validity of a will issued under undue influence may also be contested. Undue influence involves circumstances such as threats or coercion that cause the testator to make provisions in the will that he otherwise would not have.
A will can be challenged even if it is a forgery, an act done by another and presented as if it had been done by the deceased. A will drawn up by the deceased, but possibly modified by someone else, can also be contested. A will can be invalidated if it has been revoked by the testator without a new will being drawn up. When a will is not the deceased’s “last will” because another will was made after it, the first will is invalid. Mistakes can also invalidate a will, such as when a child of the testator mistakenly thought to be dead is left out of the will.
Disputes over the specific terms of a valid will are also part of probate litigation cases. Such disputes often arise because the “heirs”, blood relatives of the testator, believe that they have been erroneously omitted from the will or not sufficiently provided for. In most cases, in the absence of fraud or error, a testator can leave the property to anyone they choose. Sometimes, claims of inadequate disposition are intertwined with claims of mismanagement on the part of the executor.
Succession disputes between heirs and the executor can arise for several reasons. These can be claims that lead to unnecessary delays in the distribution of the assets of the inheritance, by not carrying out specific provisions of the will or by interpreting them incorrectly. The executor’s legal authority to administer the estate may also be challenged. A person who receives property under a will cannot also act as its executor. The heirs and other recipients of the will can also claim the professional incompetence of the lawyer who drafted the will.
In the UK, the losing party in litigation will pay the other party’s reasonable court costs. There are exceptions if the claim is based on an error by the testator, there is legitimate confusion about the meaning of the terms of the will, or the circumstances raise reasonable doubts about the authenticity or validity of the will. Because of the potential costs involved, courts strongly encourage parties to attempt mediation before resorting to litigation.
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