The firm can advise and represent you in relation to disputes regarding wills, estates and trusts. Our expert team have a wealth of experience in advising clients in a wide variety of contentious probate and trust matters including:

• Making or defending challenges to the validity of wills. Our experts have a comprehensive knowledge of the law relating to testamentary capacity, knowledge and approval, undue influence the various related claims.

• Bringing or defending claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. This legislation enables certain classes of relatives and dependants to bring claims for reasonable financial provision from a deceased person’s estate, where there will or intestacy does not provide it. We have extensive experience in such claims, which are inherently complex.

• Claims as to mutual wills. We have dealt in many disputes concerning alleged mutual wills. The law in this relation is complex and often involve very technical legal and factual issues. 

• Claims of proprietary estoppel and resulting trusts. As a growing area of law, claims of proprietary estoppel (where a person is alleged to have made promises to another that they would have or acquire a property interest, and that person has relied on the promise to their detriment) and similar claims to property under an implied or express trust, requires expert knowledge and experience with the technical aspects of such claims.

• Trust disputes. This includes (amongst other things) acting for both beneficiaries and trustees where it is alleged that the trustees are not properly administering the trust, or are guilty of some misconduct or impropriety, or are not furnishing the beneficiaries with information. This can include applications for the removal or trustees and making / defending claims against trustees for alleged breaches of trust.

We take a strategic, pragmatic and commercial approach to all matters. We aim to explain things to clients in a clear and understandable way, and to give them straight, honest and clear advice and recommendations. When litigation cannot be avoided, we fight for clients’ positions robustly and in their best interests.