Can You Overturn A Will? Here’s What You Need To Know
“Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate.” Ambrose Bierce
Because the value of estates has grown year on year, there has also been a significant growth of inheritance disputes - so for those expecting to receive a big payout from a Will, the stakes are higher than ever. More than £5.5 trillion is expected to pass between generations in the next 30 years, according to projections by estate administrator the Kings Court Trust and the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
Law firm JMW Solicitors received 52 per cent more enquiries for contested probate cases in the first half of 2023 against the same period the year before.
Alison Parry, head of Will and Trust Disputes at the firm, said: 'Proper planning can avert rows about family Wills. Here are the most-common pitfalls – and what to do to mitigate them.”
Alison Parry
Head of Wills and Trust Disputes
Mirror Wills can be dangerous
Mirror wills are a popular way of arranging legacies: two partners sign identical wills, leaving everything to the other initially, with assets to be split between their named beneficiaries after the second dies.
However, in the case of blended families, they can become contentious, because the law places no restriction on surviving spouse altering or entirely rewriting a will after a partner dies. This enables the surviving spouse to cut out their deceased partner's family altogether. Often the advice that this can happen is not given at the time people make their wills.
Don’t rely on old Wills
That Will you made years ago? Before you got remarried? It’s invalid. Because if you remarry, all old wills are revoked automatically. Unless a new will is made after your new marriage or you make a will in contemplation of the marriage (and state that on the will itself), much of the assets will go to your new spouse, regardless of the length of the relationship.
This means assets can go to unintended recipients.
The lesson here is whenever something significant happens in your life, for example marriage, divorce or the birth of a child, you should review your will and make sure it still reflects your wishes.
Divorce also automatically overrides any wills you have written in the past – in essence, when a couple divorce, the ex-spouse is treated as if they have died for the purpose of the will.
Blended families mean complex Wills
Families these days are complicated entities, and that can lead to relationship-destroying rows over who has been left what in a Will.
Aretha Franklin’s four children argued about her will for five years. The half-siblings battled over two handwritten versions of the singer's final wishes, because when Franklin died from pancreatic cancer in 2018, it was thought she had not prepared a will to divide up her £4.6 million estate.
Aretha Franklin
But nine months after her death, her niece (and executor) found two sets of handwritten notes by Franklin, which differed on what would be left to the star's four sons. Ultimately, the newest version was ruled valid by the courts.
Alison explained: “The lesson here is to plan ahead. We see many cases where someone’s wealth isn't passed on as intended because a Will hasn't been kept up to date or structured in the right way.
“It is entirely possible to create a Will that caters to all the family, no matter how complex its make-up, and which safeguards your wishes. Don’t leave it up to fate. Your family won’t thank you for it.”