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Estate Administration & Probate

Pre-Death Agreements

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A Law Firm For Life

Occasionally, an agreement will be made outside the express terms of a Will which later needs to be proved in a court of law. Irwin Mitchell has experience of this kind of inheritance dispute and can provide you with valuable advice and help.

Experts In Claims Relating To Agreements Outside Wills

Inheritance disputes involving claims to give effect to agreements not recorded in a deceased person’s Will (proprietary estoppel) typically arise in a farming context where children have worked on the farm property for a number of years on the understanding encouraged by their parents that they will inherit on the death of their parent, only to find that the Will provides for a different distribution of the estate.

In order to succeed in a proprietary estoppel claim, it is necessary to prove that the Deceased, by their conduct, encouraged the claimant to believe that they would have a right over the estate and that the claimant acted to their detriment in reliance on the promise.

Funding

We will provide a free, no-obligation initial assessment of your claims and will respond to all new enquiries by telephone, email or post within 24 hours.

We are able to offer a full range of funding options, including:

'No Win No Fee' Agreements
Discounted Fee Agreements
Public Funding (Legal Aid)
Legal Expense insurance (Panel Firm)

We will accept cases on a 'No Win No Fee' basis wherever possible. In appropriate circumstances, we can arrange insurance cover for your case which would give you peace of mind and security. Such insurance will also protect you from any liability for the fees of the other party and any disbursements incurred by us in the event that you do not win.

Working With Irwin Mitchell

Irwin Mitchell is one of the UK's most successful and respected law firms. Offering expert legal guidance for individual clients, we are also the law firm of choice for many financial institutions in providing legal services to their customers.

We provide clear, straightforward advice and a professional, proactive service. When needed, we will fight fearlessly to protect your interests and those of your loved ones.

Many legal needs can be met as they arise or be planned for in advance. Others are harder to anticipate. Whatever the circumstances, our commitment to our clients is simple - a law firm for life.

Further Information about Will, Trust & Estate Disputes

For an initial discussion, with no obligation, please call 0870 1500 100, send us an online enquiry.

Select Related Client Stories

101 Year Old's Wishes Successfully Carried Out

Our client was a lady aged 101. She was a widow with no children, and suffered from hearing loss. Currently residing in residential care, she was unable to visit the offices, and therefore a home visit was arranged.

It was apparent from the initial meeting that the Will was not going to be straightforward. Our client was very conscious of all the people she felt should benefit under her Will. However, she was unable to decide what proportion each beneficiary should get as she wished to be fair and consider the requirements of each beneficiary at the time she died, rather than at the time the Will was drafted.

She had, therefore, decided that she wanted to leave everything to her nephews so that they could decide how to apportion the estate upon her death.

The issues surrounding making outright gifts to people were explained to the client, and she was advised that an option available to her was to consider putting her estate into a trust.

Under a trust she would be able to write a letter of wishes to the Trustees, and she could update this as and when required as circumstances altered. This would avoid several potential issues that would have occurred in the event that the estate was given to her nephews absolutely, for them to follow her wishes.

The client died shortly after the Will was executed. She was in constant communication with her nephews up until the date of her death, and they knew exactly what was required with regards to the distribution of the trust, with the assistance of Irwin Mitchell.

Unfortunately, one of the nephews also died prior to the estate being finalised. In the event that he had received half of his aunt's estate absolutely, as the client initially wished, his share would have fallen under the terms of his Will following his death, and would not been distributed in accordance with our clients wishes.

Name	Location	Job Title	Telephone
Adam Draper	Sheffield	Partner	0114 274 4963
Louise Sykes	Sheffield	Partner	0114 2744379
Karen Causier	Sheffield	Associate	0114 274 4654
Chris Walton	Sheffield	Solicitor	0114 274 4976
Katie Winslow	Sheffield	Other Legal Expert	0114 274 4216
Rebecca Forder	Sheffield	Legal Executive	0114 274 4290