How To Make An Inheritance Claim - By: Tim Bishop

The last thing someone wants to do after the death of a relative or loved one is to make a claim over their Will. Disputing a Will is a particularly sensitive area of the law and is a difficult issue for many people to deal with. Nevertheless, if you believe that you have a case to contest a Will then you should act immediately, the longer you leave it, the less the chances of your success.

If you think that you have grounds to contest the validity of a Will, for example you believe that the testator was not of sound mind when they made it, or if you were dependent on the deceased financially and you have not been included in the Will. Then you must make your inheritance claim for a grant of probate is given. A grant of probate allows the executors to start distributing the estate. If you leave your claim to later on than this it will become a lot weaker.

It is really important if you do believe that you have grounds to make a claim that you get in touch with an experienced and specialist solicitor as soon as possible. They will be able to offer you sensible advice and will know all the relevant detail in order to take you through the ins and outs of your case. The first stage of contesting a will is to lodge a caveat, your solicitor will be able to do this for you. Your solicitor will register the caveat at the Probate Registry and it will prevent the greant of probate from being issued without you knowing about it.

During this period before probate is granted you can put forward the reasons for making such a claim. As well as this, the beneficiaries will be given a chance to voice their objections to any claim you may have if they believe that you should not be allowed to claim. If they chose to lodge a legal objection to this, then they will have to do this on a 'warning' document, which will list their reasons for objecting against your rights. If this takes place you must certainly get in touch with your solicitor for advice on how to proceed next. At this point, if the case is to proceed then another formal document is handed in.

In the most, inheritence claims are resolved using alternative to court methods such as mediation. This procedure involves both parties sitting together informally in order to find a mutual resolution. Nevertheless, your options for resolution do not stop there. If mediation is unsuccessful, then you are also able to take your claim before the courts. The issue with pursuing this method however is that making a claim in court is an extremely expensive process and will gain you more legal fees. If your case appears before the court then it will be the Judge whom decides whether or not the Will is valid and what you are entitled to.

About the Author

If you're thinking of contesting a will, it's essential that you choose solicitors experienced in this complex area of law, so contact Bonallack and Bishop, inheritance claim specialists, for expert legal advice. Tim Bishop is senior partner at the firm, responsible for all decisions.

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