Case study of a successful compensation claim for a solicitor’s mistake that resulted in a lost inheritance.
Case overview
We are often consulted by clients asking, ‘I lost my inheritance because of a solicitor’s mistake. What can I do?’ The simple answer is that if a mistake has been made in relation to a Will, then a beneficiary who has lost out can sue the solicitor for compensation.
This is exactly what happened in a recent case that was dealt with by Zoe Harker-Smith, a solicitor in our professional negligence team, who recovered compensation for two intended beneficiaries when they lost their inheritance due to a solicitor’s failure to prepare and complete a Will in time.
As a consequence of the delay in preparing the Will, Zoe’s clients were left with nothing when the testator died intestate without a valid Will. The case was settled without going to court at the full net value of the estate. The vast majority of the legal costs were also recovered as part of the negotiated settlement.
We acted on a no win, no fee CFA basis throughout the case.
Background to the case
In June 2023, an elderly and seriously ill testator gave clear instructions to solicitors for a simple will that left the residuary estate to our two clients in equal shares. Despite repeated updates about her deteriorating cancer prognosis, no draft of the Will was provided for over four months. When a draft finally arrived there wasn’t enough time for it to be executed, and the testator sadly died intestate two days later.
The compensation claim for delay in preparing the Will
At the outset of the claim the solicitors refused to disclose their file, claiming ‘solicitor-client privilege’. Unperturbed, Zoe gathered the necessary information to draft a detailed Letter of Claim setting out particulars of how the solicitors had breached their duty of care.
The solicitors then failed to provide a full response within the required timescale under the Pre-Action Protocol for Professional Negligence Claims. We robustly challenged their attempt to defer a substantive response in the absence of a waiver of privilege. As the testator died intestate, this meant that the Treasury Solicitors would have to grant this. We maintained that Protocol compliance was not contingent upon privileged disclosure, and that as no factual dispute had been advanced the delay would only have adverse costs consequences and force our client to issue court proceedings.
We relied on the case of White v Jones [1995] which establishes that a duty of care is owed to intended beneficiaries where negligent delay deprives them of an inheritance, and Woolcombe v Yonge [2001] which highlights that when a client is elderly or ill, a solicitor must act with urgency; measured in weeks or days, not months.
Successful negotiations lead to an out of court settlement of the negligence claim
Zoe maintained pressure for early resolution, warning the solicitors about their liability for an increased costs liability if court proceedings had to be issued.
Zoe’s tactics were successful. The negligent solicitors ultimately recognised they were at fault and an out of court settlement was negotiated.
Her clients recovered the full net value of the residuary estate, restoring them to the position they would have been in had the Will been prepared. In addition, we recovered a significant proportion of the legal costs.
How we can help you with recovering compensation for an error in preparing a Will
If you have been wondering, ‘I lost my inheritance because of a solicitor’s mistake. What can I do?‘ then contact our specialist Professional Negligence team.
We will carry out a free initial assessment of your claim and confirm whether we are able to deal with it on a ‘no win no fee’ basis.
