A North West law firm is reporting a rise in the number of wills being challenged by disgruntled beneficiaries using ‘caveats’.
Any family member or beneficiary can register a caveat at the probate registry if they don’t agree with what has been written in a will. This temporarily prevents the deceased’s estate from being administered.
It currently costs just £3 to enter a caveat but wills and probate lawyers are urging those considering such a challenge to exercise caution or they could face thousands of pounds in court fees if unsuccessful.
Kathryn Clare specialises in contentious probate at SAS Daniels LLP. She said:
“Caveats can be extremely useful in the right circumstances, but what we’re seeing is an increasing number of people entering caveats without properly thinking through the repercussions. Over the past year we’ve seen a rise in the number of people doing this, and in many cases, they don’t actually have a valid reason to support the caveat.
“If you want to challenge a will and prevent a deceased person’s estate from being administered, you must have a good and valid reason. Valid reasons can range from the deceased being coerced into writing the will, not being of sound mind when they made the will, or it could be that an error has been made in the drafting of the will.”
The number of caveats being registered has risen in the last five years. Kathryn adds:
“People are more likely to challenge a will if they feel they’ve been unfairly left out but if you enter a caveat and a court deems that there is no basis for maintaining it, you could be liable for thousands in court fees. If you’re thinking of entering a caveat, get legal advice first.”
SAS Daniels is a full-service law firm with four offices located in Stockport, Macclesfield, Chester and Congleton.
