Contesting a Will on the Grounds of Negligence!

The only certain thing about life, as the cliché goes, is that it will come to an end. The death of a loved one can be an incredibly harrowing experience, as anybody who has ever experienced it can attest to. There are always long lists of tasks, legal and otherwise, that will need to be sorted out, and unfortunately they often have to be done by grieving relatives, which is, of course, the last thing many would wish to be doing at such a time.

It remains a prevalent fallacy that only those persons who are aged or in a state of poor health should concern themselves with a Will. Yet, regardless of your status, you will have no power over what will happen to your assets when you die if you do not make a Will. Indeed, this generally leads to the Government dividing up the assets of the deceased according to the very exacting rules of intestacy. This in itself is a difficult state of affairs, but an even more frustrating experience can arise from a negligently drafted will or the negligent actions of trustees or administrators.

A badly drafted will that does not reflect the wishes of the testator can have far reaching ramifications. The same can be said if the maker of the Will has not thought it through or considered the consequences if his or her instructions, whether it is due to illness or other reasons. What you might not know is that you may be able to contest a Will if you feel it has been drafted negligently.

There are a wide range of reasons for an individual to contest the distribution of assets following a death on the grounds of negligence on behalf of the Will drafters or administrators.

One such reason for contesting a Will could be that the will drafter failed to reflect the deceased's wishes in his/her will to the detriment of a beneficiary. Another example of negligence on behalf of the drafter could be that all or part of the Will was so poorly drafted that the deceased's wishes could not be construed or there were contradictory clauses. If either of these have happened to you, then you may wish to consider the possibility of making a negligence claim against the firm or company who were responsible for the Will being drafted in conflict with the deceased’s wishes.

Furthermore, you may wish to make a negligence claim if the Will was drafted in a way which all of the proper legal formalities were not met. This could regard the execution of the Will or the mental capacity of the individual at the time they made the Will. Equally, a will drafter may be negligent if it took too long to draft a Will and the deceased died before it was executed.

Alternatively, it could be a claim by a beneficiary against a professional executor or administrator. This could be a solicitor but it may also be a bank or other professional organisation, and is generally made on the grounds that they contravened the often onerous responsibilities that they are duty bound to comply with. An instance of this would be if they failed to invest the assets in line with the range of investments that are open to them.

Ultimately, it is best to seek good legal advice if you feel you may have to make a negligence claim against the Will drafters or administrators.

This article is free to republish provided the authors resource box below remains intact.

Chris Detheridge is an experienced Solicitor specialising in Contesting A Will in the UK. Chris has helped many clients Contest A Will and may help you determine if you may have a claim.