Contesting a will
Advice
The main grounds to contest a will are that the writer lacked mental capacity, in this situation the party looking to contest the will need to believe they lacked capacity. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 states that’s a person will be presumed to have capacity until it is proved they do not. A person will lack capacity if, at the time in question, they were unable to decide for themselves because of an impairment, or a disturbance in, the functioning of the mind or brain.
Examples that could create suspicion are where the deceased:
- Was hard of hearing, had a speech impairment or was visually impaired;
- Had low levels of literacy;
- Was frail, unwell or vulnerable;
- Was under an undue influence – this is where there was pressure to make or change when they didn’t want to.
Wills should be written in plain English to avoid any doubt, however, if you feel the writer did not understand the terms used then the will could still be declared valid. A claim of this nature must be issued within 6 months of a grant of probate being issued, other instances would involve potential forgery of the will itself.
If you feel that a will you are planning to write would be challenged then we would suggest using either our services (which automatically include a mental health check) or if using another provider then contact local psychologists, or possibly your local hospital and get yourself confirmed as mentally sound. If at all possible, you need to write the will in front of witnesses, using plain English.
How we can help
Lestons can check any will to make sure it is legal and binding, one issue is vagueness, here a degree of understanding may need to be accepted by parties. For instance, “everything in the garden goes to my sister”, sounds fair and is meant to infer pot plants etc, but what if their classic car was parked on the garden at the time of their demise?
Before we can assess the terms of the will you will need to create a case by clicking the link at the top of this page, activated by the link at the top of the page, should you wish to start a case the caseworker will send you the suitable payment link.
Please note your caseworker can only give generic advice, their role is to prepare your details for handling by our will writing experts and to act as your point of contact, they will also issue you with your Password and PIN, these will be needed to log onto your client dashboard. From your dashboard you will be able to manage and view every aspect of your case, upload documents, images, files etc.