Contentious Probate

If there’s any dispute about how a person’s estate is administered after they’ve died – like who will inherit their assets or live in their house – it may be referred to as ‘contentious probate’.

A solicitor can help you resolve disputes to do with:

• How the will is interpreted
• The value of the assets involved
• Disagreements between beneficiaries
• An executor who has mismanaged the estate.

If there was no will and you want to challenge how the estate has been divided up, you can also contest the probate.

A person’s legacy is important, and it’s important to know that it’s being handled in a way that’s fair to those inheriting, and doesn’t damage its value.

What’s the difference between contesting a will and contentious probate?

Contentious probate refers to any dispute about the way a person’s estate is administered after they die. Technically, will disputes fall under this term – if you wanted to challenge someone’s will, that would legally be termed contentious probate.

However, because so many different types of disputes fall under the contentious probate banner, it’s helpful to break them down further. So we distinguish between contentious probate disputes (how the assets of the estate are sorted out after someone’s death), and will disputes (where there is a problem with the will itself).

You might contest a will if:

• You think it is invalid
• The will was forged or the result of fraud
• You think the person who’s died didn’t have mental capacity to make it
• The person who’s died was pressured to change their will to benefit someone else (known as undue influence).