Will, trust and inheritance disputes

“One day all this will be yours” is the simplest way to summarise a claim based on 'estoppel'. They will often arise in relation to a family business, or a farm, and typically a child of the deceased will have been promised a share in a business, or a property (or a mixture of both) in return for something else, such as working in the business for a long time, or looking after a parent in their later years for example.

These cases are always very fact specific and require a good grasp of points of detail if they are to be run successfully.

Sometimes a death in the family can trigger somebody to claim, for the first time, that they should have a share in a property that is not formally recorded anywhere, or perhaps that they have acquired a greater share than that formal record indicates.

It might be because they have spent money on the property for example, or perhaps it is because the deceased person promised it to them but never got round to recording that anywhere.

Whatever the case, these types of cases can be challenging, because the key witness as to what was promised or discussed is no longer around to give evidence. Getting specialist advice early on and working hard to gather what secondary evidence there may be will be crucial in claims of this nature.

Unfortunately on occasions trustees will not act in a way that is in the best interests of beneficiaries. That might be for entirely innocent reasons, or it might be because their personal interests have conflicted with their duties as trustees, for instance. Some times beneficiaries will want to challenge a decision a trustee has made, and the claim will need to be defended.

Whatever the case, we regularly advise on these types of issues, acting for both trustees and beneficiaries.

With an ageing population in the UK, we are seeing more and more wills being made in circumstances that might appear unusual, or suspicious.

The courts seem to be adopting a more open minded approach to challenges to wills, especially those that are based on undue influence, or duress. With the size of the average estate increasing year on year, the stakes are therefore high when bringing or defending a challenge to a will.

These types of cases always turn on detail, and our meticulous approach to matters means we are well placed to handle these types of claims in a way that gives the best chance of a favourable outcome for our clients.

Read our disputing a will article.

Even where a will cannot be formally 'challenged' certain categories of person can still seek a better financial outcome from an estate than the terms of the will (or intestacy) would provide.

That might be under the 'Inheritance Act' which we have extensive experience of dealing with. Or it might be based on promises or assurances that were made by the deceased during their lifetime (often called broken promise or 'estoppel' claims).

Read our article on the 'Inheritance Act'.

Sometimes with an estate, a beneficiary will believe it is not appropriate for the named executor in a will to take a grant of probate. But often that executor will not agree, and sometimes for good reason.

This sort of dispute comes up frequently in the work our team handles, often in conjunction with (for instance) an inheritance dispute of one form.

We also frequently act as replacement personal representatives ourselves, through our Trust Corporation, having been asked by other solicitors to do so on their own disputes.

Often in a long running family business, the patriarch/matriarch figure in a family will be involved in the running of that business right until the end of their life. Whilst that person was alive, things probably proceeded smoothly. But often on their passing a wide variety of issues might arise; Who deals with day to day business decisions whilst a grant of probate is obtained? What happens to the shares, if there is a limited company? What happens to the partnership and remaining partners (if there are any)?

We work closely with our wide range of litigation experts to assist with the types of disputes that can arise in these situations, whether that is a partnership dispute, a shareholder dispute, or something else all together.