If you wish to contest a will then our experienced lawyers are here to help and are often able to work on a No Win, No Fee basis. Call our legal helpline on 0333 888 0409 or email us for free initial guidance.
We recently helped an adult child to contest the will of her late father. The claim against her father’s estate settled at mediation with our client receiving a six-figure sum, including payment of her legal costs.
Her claim was brought under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependants) Act 1975. We also made a separate claim for proprietary estoppel, which is a legal action for a broken promise.
Our client worked with her father for many years. During that time she worked for very low wages as her father promised her that she would inherit his business and the majority of his estate when he died.
However, when our client’s father passed away his will specified that his wife (our client’s step-mother) would inherit his estate for the duration of the step-mother’s lifetime. This meant that the promised inheritance would only pass to our client when her step-mother died.
Our client was very unhappy with this situation as she knew that she might have to wait many years to inherit the business and her father’s assets. She was in immediate financial need and therefore decided to contest the will of her late father. She appointed us to represent her and we agreed to work on a no win, no fee basis.
We gathered together evidence to support our client’s claims and presented these to her step-mother and the estate. It was clear that our client had a strong case and to avoid the need for lengthy and expensive court proceedings the parties agreed to mediate.
The mediation resulted in an out of court settlement being reached. Our client was very happy with the outcome as it gave her the immediate financial provision she needed, and she walked away with a six-figure sum.