Son successfully challenges his mother’s Will
Real-life case study about challenging your mother’s Will
Solicitor David Lees has helped a client to challenge the validity of his mother’s Will after he was disinherited.
The legal challenge was based upon the allegation that his mother lacked Testamentary Capacity and her Will was therefore invalid.
For a Will to be legally valid in England and Wales, the maker of the Will must have had the requisite mental capacity when the Will was made.
In this case, although our client’s mother’s estate was worth around £300,000, she completely wrote him out of her Will. The Will inexplicably favoured his twin brother and another sibling, along with friends of his mother.
His mother was suffering from mental health difficulties when she made her Will and we alleged that she lacked the required mental capacity to make a valid Will.
A formal legal challenge was made on the grounds of ‘lack of testamentary capacity’.
However, it was not necessary for us to issue formal court proceedings as an out of court settlement was reached by negotiation. Under the settlement our client received the sum of £82,000, which included payment of his legal costs.
If you would like guidance on challenging your mother’s Will, or need to know more about contesting a Will on the basis that the maker of the Will lacked testamentary capacity, then contact our free legal helpline. Our specialist inheritance dispute solicitors will be happy to carry out a free case assessment of your case, and let you know what your options are. We will also consider the various funding arrangements available to you, including No Win, No Fee. All you have to do is give us a call on our freephone number or send brief details of the case to us by email.