Reasons For Making An Inheritance Claim

Contesting a will is a serious decision to make; it is a stressful and emotional procedure and should not be taken lightly. Situations which usually encourage people to take such action are where they believe they have missed out on an inheritance claim or they believe that the will made by the deceased is invalid.

Validity of the Will

If you think that the will in question is invalid, then you might be able to contest it. In order for a will to be valid, it has to meet certain conditions. For example, it has to be made by a person aged over 18, they must be of sound mind and realise the implications of the document, they must not be subject to any undue influence, it must be signed by the testator and two witnesses, and neither of the witnesses can be a beneficiary.

If any of these conditions fail to be met then the will could be rendered invalid and you should take action as soon as you suspect there might be something wrong. A court of law always assumes that the will is valid, so if you want to make an inheritance claim or otherwise contest the contents, you will be the one responsible for proving that the will is invalid.

Dependence on the deceased

If a certain person was financially dependant on the deceased by the testator failed to make provision for them in their will, then they may be entitled to make a claim to the court in order to receive a settlement. The people who can make an inheritance claim such as this are the partner of the deceased and any minors or mentally disabled people who were dependant on them.

While most beneficiaries of the will are likely to receive their inheritance as a lump sum, any financial dependant who goes through the process of contesting a will is more likely to receive their money in the form of maintenance payments.

Lost will

If the original copy of a will has been lost, then the copy might be disputed unless the executor of the will can prove its validity.

Beneficiaries of previous wills

Occasionally, those people who were beneficiaries in a previous will but who have been left out of the final one can contest the will in order to make an inheritance claim. This, though, is a fairly rare occurrence - the main reasons for contesting a will are usually because of its validity or in the case of financial dependants.