• Accident & Medical Claims
    • Accident Claims
    • Road Traffic Accidents
    • Medical Negligence
    • Asbestos Claims
    • Serious Injuries
    • Funding Your Personal Injury Claim
  • Divorce & Children
    • Divorce & Separation
    • Children Law
    • Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements
    • Living Together
    • Domestic Violence
    • Same Sex Families
  • Wealth Management
    • Pensions
    • Financial Advice
    • Tax
    • Life Insurance
    • Residential Care Home Planning
    • Trusts
  • Wills & Inheritance
    • Wills
    • Dealing with a Death
    • Inheritance Disputes
    • Powers of Attorney
    • Court of Protection
    • Notary Services
  • Business Services
    • Business Disputes
    • Business Agreements & Contracts
    • Debt Recovery
    • Corporate Services
    • Insolvency Advice
    • Intellectual Property
  • Employment & HR
    • Employer Legal Advice – Managing Your Workforce
    • Employee Rights
  • Property Services
    • House Sales & Purchases
    • Commercial Property
    • Property Disputes
    • Landlord & Tenant
    • Planning Law
    • Construction & Engineering
  • Sectors
    • Education Law
    • Academy Conversion Services
    • Services for Academies
    • Education Training
    • Charities
  • About Us
    • Our People
    • Find Us
    • About
    • Careers at Nelsons
    • News
    • Events
    • Blogs
    • Fusion Legal
  • Pay Online
  • Our People
  • Find Us
  • About
  • Careers at Nelsons
  • News
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Fusion Legal
  • Pay Online
logo
0800 024 1976 Email us
logo
For advice and support 0800 024 1976
Email us
  • Accident & Medical Claims

    Accident Claims icon arrow

    Compensation for your injuries

    Asbestos Claims icon arrow

    Asbestos exposure and related diseases

    Road Traffic Accidents icon arrow

    Car, bike, bus and lorry accidents

    Medical Negligence icon arrow

    Advice when you need it most

    Abuse Claims icon arrow

    Abuse compensation claims

    Serious Injuries icon arrow

    Head, brain and spinal injury claims

  • Divorce & Children

    Divorce & Separation icon arrow

    Resolving your relationship issues

    Children Law icon arrow

    Child arrangements and adoption

    Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements icon arrow

    Drafting and reviewing marital agreements

    Family Mediation icon arrow

    Resolving separation disputes

    Living Together icon arrow

    Legal protection for living together

    Domestic Violence icon arrow

    Protecting you from abuse

  • Wills & Inheritance

    Wills icon arrow

    Making or changing a Will

    Dealing with a Death icon arrow

    Probate and inheritance services

    Inheritance Disputes icon arrow

    Challenging or disputing a Will

    Powers of Attorney icon arrow

    Managing your financial and legal affairs

    Court of Protection icon arrow

    Making decisions for your loved ones

    Notary Services icon arrow

    Witnessing your documents

  • Wealth Management

    Independent Financial Advisers icon arrow

    Investment management planning and strategies

    Pensions icon arrow

    Corporate and personal pension planning

    Cash Flow Modelling icon arrow

    Strategies to calculate your future income

    Tax icon arrow

    Personal tax planning

    Residential Care Home Planning icon arrow

    Planning ahead for your future

    Trusts icon arrow

    Creation and administration

  • Business Services

    Business Disputes icon arrow

    Resolving commercial and business conflicts

    Business Agreements & Contracts icon arrow

    Commercial agreements for your business

    Debt Recovery icon arrow

    Collecting money owed to your business

    Corporate Services icon arrow

    Company law, banking and finance

    Professional Negligence icon arrow

    Compensation for negligent advice

    Restructuring & Insolvency icon arrow

    Corporate and personal, bankruptcy and liquidations

    Intellectual Property icon arrow

    Agreements, trade marks and disputes

  • Employment & HR

    Managing Your Workforce icon arrow

    Managing and supporting your workforce

    Employee Rights icon arrow

    Your rights in the workplace

  • Property Services

    House Sales & Purchases icon arrow

    Get an instant online quote

    Commercial Property icon arrow

    Real estate acquisitions, leases and disposals

    Property Disputes icon arrow

    Resolving property and land issues

    Landlord & Tenant icon arrow

    Services for landlords and commercial tenants

    Planning Law icon arrow

    Planning applications and appeals

  • Sectors

    Construction & Engineering icon arrow

    Contracts and alternative dispute resolution

    Education Law icon arrow

    Legal services to the Education sector

    Charities icon arrow

    Legal support for charities

    Dentists & Dental Practices icon arrow

    Specialist advice for dentists and dental practices

    Manufacturing icon arrow

    Specialist legal support and advice for manufacturers

    Family Businesses icon arrow

    Specialist advice for your family business

Contesting a Will

For advice and support 0800 024 1976
Email us
Kevin Modiri
  • Kevin Modiri
  • Partner & Solicitor
  • Home
  • Inheritance Disputes
  • How to Contest a Will
Meet the team

Challenging the validity of a Will

When a loved one dies, if you are suspicious or unhappy with the contents of their Will you may be able to challenge or contest the Will’s validity.

  • There are a number of reasons or grounds for contesting a Will, including:
    1. Lack of proper formalities – All Wills must follow certain formalities in order to be valid, for example, they must be written, signed and witnessed correctly. It is relatively easy to make a mistake when executing a Will and homemade Wills are particularly susceptible to challenge for failing to comply with formalities.
    2. Lack of testamentary capacity – A person must be of sound mind and be able to comprehend their assets when making a Will. Contesting a Will based on lack of capacity often requires evidence from medical experts, to discover whether the person had signs of confusion or dementia when making the Will.
    3. Lack of knowledge and approval – A person must know and approve of the contents of their Will. If the circumstances surrounding the preparation or execution of the Will ‘excite suspicion’, it may not be valid – for example, if the Will was drafted by one of its beneficiaries.
    4. Undue influence – If a Will does not reflect the true wishes of the testator it can be set aside. Undue influence can take various and subtle forms – bullying, intimidation or even maligning a third party to cause someone to change their Will. It must be proved that the person was coerced into making the Will, it is not enough that they were persuaded, and coercion must always be demonstrated with strong evidence.
    5. Forgery or fraud – If a Will has been tampered with or was not signed by the deceased, it will not be valid. Fraud is a serious allegation and must be supported by evidence, usually from a handwriting analysis expert.
    6. Will rectification – If there was a clerical error when making the Will, or the deceased’s instructions were not understood, an application for the Will to be rectified can be made.
  • How long do I have to contest a Will?

    When contesting a Will there is a time limit of 12 years from the date of death, or in the case of fraud, there is no time limit. It is however vital to take expert legal advice as soon as there are grounds to do so, to prevent the estate from being distributed based on an incorrect Will.

Need advice? Contact us to find out how we can help
  • "Nelsons Solicitors Limited has a sizeable contentious trusts and probate team that frequently handles disputes concerning high value estates. The team displays strong expertise in Inheritance Act claims, complex challenges to wills, court of protection and defamation matters. Practice head Kevin Modiri and his team are 'sensible and pragmatic' and frequently deliver client training and CPD seminars.”

    Legal 500
  • "A reliable, robust, firm which fights its client's corner effectively."

    Client Feedback
  • "Keeping myself informed and explaining things in black and white frequently. Making me feel that someone actually wanted to help and in the soonest time possible. Your team are very polite and professional, nothing is too much trouble. I can't thank you enough."

    Client Feedback
  • "There is seamless coordination between fee earners when necessary."

    Client Feedback

How we can help

Contesting WillAt Nelsons, we have a specialist team of inheritance disputes solicitors in Derby, Leicester and Nottingham who can help you in contesting or challenging a Will.

Our team specialise in Will disputes and includes members of The Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS). The team is also recommended by the independently-researched directory, The Legal 500, as one of the top teams of specialists in the country.

To discuss how our specialist team of inheritance disputes solicitors might be able to act on your behalf when contesting a Will, please call 0800 024 1976 or contact us via our online enquiry form.

  • "Nelsons Solicitors Limited has a sizeable contentious trusts and probate team that frequently handles disputes concerning high value estates. The team displays strong expertise in Inheritance Act claims, complex challenges to wills, court of protection and defamation matters. Practice head Kevin Modiri and his team are 'sensible and pragmatic' and frequently deliver client training and CPD seminars.”

    Legal 500
  • "A reliable, robust, firm which fights its client's corner effectively."

    Client Feedback
  • "Keeping myself informed and explaining things in black and white frequently. Making me feel that someone actually wanted to help and in the soonest time possible. Your team are very polite and professional, nothing is too much trouble. I can't thank you enough."

    Client Feedback
  • "There is seamless coordination between fee earners when necessary."

    Client Feedback

Find out how Nelsons can help you. Contact our friendly team for a guaranteed fast response.

For advice and support 0800 024 1976
Email us

Related topics

  • Inheritance Disputes
  • Executor Disputes
  • Fraudulent Wills
  • Dealing with a Death
  • Wills
Meet the team

Wills & Inheritance case studies

Case studies
For advice and support 0800 024 1976
Email us

Request a document we are storing for you

Email us

Join our mailing list to keep up to date with our latest news and events

Sign up
Nelsons logo
Nelsons Derby

Sterne House
Lodge Lane
Derby
Derbyshire
DE1 3WD

01332 372 372
Nelsons Leicester

Provincial House
37 New Walk
Leicester
Leicestershire
LE1 6TU

0116 222 6666
Nelsons Nottingham

Pennine House
8 Stanford Street
Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
NG1 7BQ

0115 958 6262
  • Our People
  • Our Offices
  • About Us
  • Careers at Nelsons
  • News
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Fusion Legal
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Notice
  • GDPR FAQs
  • Client Records Retention Schedule
  • Cookie Policy
  • Complaints
  • Accessibility
  • Sitemap
  • Website by Hallam
  • Design by M&D
  • Lexcel logo
Cyber Essentials logo

Nelsons Solicitors Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales (Reg No: 07219010) and a wholly owned subsidiary of Nelsonslaw LLP, a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales (Reg No: OC335458).  Their registered offices are at Pennine House, 8 Stanford Street, Nottingham, NG1 7BQ. A list of members of Nelsonslaw LLP may be inspected at the registered office. Nelsons Solicitors Limited and Nelsonslaw LLP are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Nelsons Solicitors Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our notaries are regulated by the Faculty Office. Nelsons Solicitors Limited’s VAT No is 385 184 329.

 

We use the word “partner” to refer to a member of Nelsonslaw LLP and/or a director of Nelsons Solicitors Limited and its use in connection with the business of Nelsons Solicitors Limited should not be construed as an indication that any member or director carries on business in partnership with any other member or director within the meaning of the Partnership Act 1890.

We use cookies to improve your experience of our site (we do not track your identity). To comply with the new e-Privacy Directive we need to seek your consent to set these cookies. If you do not make a selection, we will assume that you consent to the cookies being set. Find out more. Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT