Property  

How to tackle a will dispute

  • Describe the reasons why will disputes arise
  • Identify some of the risks where will dsputes happen
  • Explain how to handle it
CPD
Approx.30min

Do not forget costs and tax

Tax planning should be an integral part of the strategy in any will dispute. Tax advisers should be involved from the start and their advice should be updated as the dispute evolves.

Article continues after advert

The parties should also keep in mind the costs of the dispute, including the costs that will be incurred by other parties. It is common for the court to order that all parties’ costs should come out of the estate – even the costs of the losing parties. Those costs will all reduce the assets available for the beneficiaries, and in an extreme scenario it is possible for a party to end up worse off after winning the litigation than had they not pursued it at all. Very few are likely to thank their adviser if they find that their litigation has left them worse off.

So what are the major lessons? 

Clients can and should take steps to minimise the risk of a will dispute, but if you cannot avoid one, be strategic, stay calm and make sure you know what end result you want. 

Jonathan Arr and Elizabeth Doherty are partners and Jacob Ward is a senior associate in the private client disputes team at Macfarlanes

CPD
Approx.30min

Please answer the six multiple choice questions below in order to bank your CPD. Multiple attempts are available until all questions are correctly answered.

  1. Which of the following is NOT a reason for an increase in will disputes?

  2. Which of the following is NOT a common reason for a will dispute?

  3. The emotional distress of the family can make assessing a will harder to deal with, true or false?

  4. Which of the following is NOT a main risk of a will?

  5. A dishonest or incompetent executor is immaterial to the execution of the will, true or false?

  6. Why is a will prepared by solicitors advantageous?

Nearly There…

You have successfully answered all the questions correctly, well done!

You should now know…

  • Describe the reasons why will disputes arise
  • Identify some of the risks where will dsputes happen
  • Explain how to handle it

I completed this CPD in

To bank your CPD please complete the form below.

Were the stated learning objectives met?

Why weren't they met?

What did you learn from undertaking this CPD exercise?

Why did you undertake this piece of learning?

Any comments about this article or FTAdviser's CPD in general?

Banked!

Congratulations, you have successfully completed and banked this piece of CPD

Already Banked!

You have already banked for this article.

To bank your CPD you must or

Register

One or more questions have been incorrectly answered,
 please review your answers and try again.

Please complete all the above text fields to bank your CPD.

More Your Industry CPDSee my completed CPDSee all CPD