insideKENT Magazine Issue 24 - March 2014 | Page 149
LAW
WHERE THERE’S
A WILL…
Contesting the Will of a relative or
bringing a claim in respect of a trust or
an estate can be very complicated and
distressing. This month Russell Simpson,
Head of the Will, Trust and Estate Disputes
Team at Cripps Harries Hall, answers
some of the more common questions
that clients often ask.
Russell Simpson
When can a Will be disputed?
A Will can be disputed on the grounds that it is
invalid, or because the person disputing it has
not been left any or sufficient provision under the
terms of the Will.
When might a Will be invalid?
A Will could be invalid because it has not been
signed in accordance with special rules about
how this must be done. Put simply, the person
making the Will (‘testator’) must sign it in the
presence of two witnesses, who are both present
at the same time and who must also then sign
the Will.
A Will might also be invalid if the testator
did not have the required mental capacity to
make the Will, did not have knowledge of the
contents of the Will, or was pressurised into
making the Will by somebody else.
Who can dispute a Will?
Normally a person who wants to prove that a
Will is invalid would be somebody who stands
to benefit from the deceased’s estate if they
succeed in their claim. They might, for instance,
benefit under a previous Will which would then
come back into existence. Alternatively, they
might benefit under the rules which apply when
somebody dies without a Will if there was no
previous Will.
Are there any other claims that can be made
when somebody dies?
If a person thinks they should have been left a
share of someone’s estate they can make a claim
if they qualify as an eligible claimant. This includes
someone who was a spouse or child of the
deceased, lived with the deceased for at least
two years prior to his or her death, or wa ́