What are your options if you have been left out of a Will?
If you have been left out of a will in circumstances where you feel you should have been included then there are several legal options available to you.
Making an Inheritance Act claim
First, if you have been left out of a Will of someone who was close to you then you may be entitled to bring a claim against the estate under the Inheritance Act.
The Inheritance Act is there to protect people who have a right to financial provision from a deceased person’s estate, regardless of the contents of the Will. Under the Act the court has the power to override the will and make an award to the claimant from the estate.
Inheritance Act claims are most commonly made by spouses, partners, children and people who were financially dependant upon the deceased.
You can read more about making an Inheritance Act claim here.
Invalid Will challenges
The other option you have if you’ve been left out of a Will is to challenge the legal validity of the Will itself. This effectively involves proving that the Will is not valid (and therefore unenforceable) because it fails to comply with a key legal requirement.
Examples of the grounds for challenging the validity of a Will include fraud, undue influence, mental incapacity and a failure to comply with the legal formalities of making a valid Will.
Obviously, challenging the validity of a Will is only going to be viable where you stand to benefit from that Will being declared unenforceable. This involves looking at the terms of any earlier Will that would take its place or the effect of the intestacy rules if there is no valid Will.
The law in relation to invalidity challenges is quite complex, but you can read more about the key principles involved here.
If you have been left out of a Will and would like to know where you stand then you can call our free legal helpline on 0333 888 0404 for a case assessment and details of No Win – No Fee funding. Alternatively you can email brief details of your case to us at [email protected]
