Matthew, our client

Disappointed Beneficiary Claims

Our Will Disputes solicitors may be able to help you claim if you expected to inherit something from a loved one but it isn’t in their Will.

People often agree to leave specific assets or possessions to their friends and family in their Will. Unfortunately, these pre-death agreements are sometimes missing from the deceased’s final Will because of mistakes made by their solicitor or Will writer. Mistakes like this can be particularly severe for high net worth individuals with valuable and unique assets.

In 2005, the House of Lords ruled that Will writers owe a duty of care not only to the person making the Will, but also to anyone who was intended to inherit. This means that you can claim against the Will writer if you have missed out on expected inheritance due to negligence on their part.

Making a professional negligence claim might not secure you the exact inheritance that you expected, but our solicitors will work closely with you to achieve the best possible outcome for your individual situation.

Our highly experienced team takes a bespoke approach to every client, with support and representation tailored for your unique needs. We’ll discuss the case with you in-depth, help you decide on the best course of action, and keep you informed with progress throughout your claim.

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Disappointed Beneficiaries Claims - More Information

My legal team has held my hand throughout, they have been incredibly patient and understanding"

Joy Williams, client

Frequently Asked Questions

Who Can Make A Disappointed Beneficiary Claim?

You may be able to claim if mistakes made by the Will writer have meant that you’ve received less than you were expecting from an estate. This can happen when a Will isn’t executed properly or in some cases not executed at all.

For example, you could claim if:

Unnecessary delays meant that changes someone made to their Will weren’t put in place before they passed away
The Will writer didn’t properly advise the deceased on how to execute their Will
The Will writer didn’t supervise the execution of the Will
The Will doesn’t reflect the deceased’s intentions
The estate lost value due to incorrect tax advice.

If you’re disappointed with what you’ve been left in someone’s Will, our solicitors can investigate whether or not you’ll be able to make a claim. Call us on 0345 604 4895 or contact us online to find out more.

What Happens When I Make A Claim?

We will always try to keep your dispute out of court wherever possible. Our team includes highly skilled mediators and we will try to help you, the executor and the other beneficiaries reach an agreement before making a formal claim.

If an agreement isn’t possible and you do need to make a formal claim…

We will need to prove that the deceased’s current Will is defective due to mistakes made by the Will writer or bad advice from a solicitor. This is known as professional negligence.

If we successfully challenge the validity of the Will, the deceased’s estate may be distributed in accordance with an earlier Will instead. If there is no earlier Will, the estate will be distributed in line with the rules of intestacy – find out more about what that means on our Probate Disputes When There Is No Will page.

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