Contesting A Will
Our client's husband died. By his will the deceased left his estate to our client and only in the event that she did not survive him to be shared between his children from his previous marriage and our client's children from her previous marriage. His children from his first marriage claimed that the terms of the wills that our client and the deceased had made at the same time were "mutual wills" with the result that our client must not use her inheritance from her husband in such a way that would deprive the children of their ultimate inheritance. Our client was clear that that was not what had been intended but recognised that she had some moral responsibility to the deceased's children.
At mediation our client agreed to the deceased's children inheriting a share of his estate in full settlement of their claims.
We were later able to negotiate a settlement of our client's claim that the solicitors who had drafted the wills had done so negligently and thereby recovered the majority of the costs incurred in the dispute with the deceased’s children.