The specialist private client probate litigation team, led by Sarah Foster, advises on a wide range of disputes concerning wills, trusts and estates (commonly referred to as "contentious probate"). We act for individuals - beneficiaries, executors and trustees - in pursuing or defending applications and/or claims.
We act on matters such as:
- Contested Wills – where the mental capacity of the deceased is in doubt or there are other questions concerning the validity of a Will arising out of lack of knowledge and approval, undue influence or fraud – and/or where there are issues surrounding construction
- Distribution of assets within an estate – advising for and against those who consider that they have been wrongly left out of a Will, by way of a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependants) Act 1975 and/or a proprietary estoppel claim
- Trust administration – dealing with applications to substitute or remove executors or trustees and have them restore a trust fund where there are concerns that a breach of trust has occurred
Some examples of our recent cases are:
- Advising a family in relation to challenges to Wills on grounds of lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence and want of knowledge and approval
- Representing a group of intestacy beneficiaries at trial in relation to a claim brought against the estate based upon a nuncupative (oral) Will
- Defending the executors of an estate from a claim to have the transfer of a property to their father set aside because of incapacity/undue influence
- Acting in a complex Inheritance Act claim for a claimant who was a long term co-habitee of the deceased, where estate assets were tied up in a farming business
- Separately pursuing and defending proprietary estoppel claims valued at over £1 million in relation to promises allegedly made in relation to the inheritance of farms
- Acting for trustees in relation to an application to court to resolve a dispute in the administration of a family trust involving interests in a group of companies and property assets
- Acting for a beneficiary of a trust in an action against the trustees for improper investment of the trust fund.
Sarah Foster`s article on undue influence (previously published in Legal Week) can be read here; and her article on disputes that may arise following death can be read here.
Katharine Riley's article on what to do if a Will doesn't provide for you can be read here.
For further information, please contact Sarah Foster.