Although the whole grieving process is not an easy or nice thing to go through, it can be made worse when you have to deal with problems related to wills. While it may not be the time you’d prefer to deal with it, these problems and issues can lead to will disputes. It can be difficult knowing whether or not you have a legal claim to disputing a will. This is why in the following article we will look at the various reasons and grounds for will disputes that exist in the UK.
It is worth noting before we go any further that the following only applies to will disputes in Wales and England, as Northern Ireland has slightly different laws and Scotland has entirely different laws.
Disputing Invalidated Wills
If a will is invalidated, this can be used as grounds for contesting it. This often happens if a will have been cancelled because of a new marriage without being made an exception. It means people could live as a couple for a long time, make wills at the beginning when they become a couple and then get married, only for the marriage to cancel out the will.
Will Disputes Based By Alleging Duress
A will made under duress is a will made by someone who was threatened or forced into doing it. For instance, if the person making the will was told to leave money to someone in particular by threatening to check him or her into a nursing home if they didn’t.
Will Disputes Because Of Undue Influence
A common reason or issue why people contest wills is when there is reason to believe or evidence that a will made with undue influence. However, for this type of challenge to be successful there needs to be proof shown that the person who made the will did so under the bad influence of someone else, so that it benefits them or someone else.
Although this is extremely difficult to prove, if the person accused of having undue influence was either the will maker’s carer or some they depended; it is much easier to convince a court.
Lack of Mental Capacity Will Dispute
This is perhaps the most common reason for will disputes in this country. To have a successful case, the contester needs to prove that when the person made their will they were not capable mentally of understanding what they were doing.
Is A Destroyed Will Still Legal?
While in some situations, if a contract is destroyed it means the contract is no longer valid, if a will is destroyed for any reason it does not mean it is invalid. In the past wills that have been shredded, thrown away or set on fire have still be considered as completely valid and legal. However, in order for this to be possible, a will dispute has to already be in place.
