Michael Tringham follows the latest disputes in the wills & probate world
With litigation generally on a downward trend and even the number of grants of representation declining, a seemingly inexorable rise in probate and trust disputes is keeping the courts busy: proceedings rose by nearly 14% between 2010 and 2011 and more than doubled since 2006 (source: Ministry of Justice Judicial and Court Statistics).
Specialist solicitors attribute a variety of reasons for this. Howes Percival’s Elizabeth Young comments: “Families, who have not seen their relatives as regularly as perhaps they should (in the mind of the deceased) are stunned to find they are left nothing and question the validity of the will. Wills may be invalid for a want of proper formalities. ‘DIY’ wills may be incorrectly completed.” She cites recent cases where clients were unaware that their marriage had revoked the wills made days before their big day and never updated since, and another who had inadvertently revoked his UK will when making a new will in Canada to deal with a Canadian
