When it comes to administering an estate, the most common experience is that the estate will be administered without any sort of dispute.
However, this is not always the case. In many cases the estate administration can be delayed as a result of prolonged disputes over different aspects of the estate and because of people’s personal beliefs in how the estate should be administered in a particular way.
What disputes can arise?
The sort of disputes that can arise within an estate administration setting are varied. Two of the most common types of dispute in an estate is a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (‘1975 Act’) or a claim to dispute the validity of the Will.
In both of these instances, the estate administration will be delayed. In the case of a claim under the 1975 Act, the distribution of the estate would have to be put on hold until either a judgment has been made by the Court, or a settlement has been reached without the Court’s intervention.
Similarly in a dispute as to the validity of the Will, the administration period can be prolonged because of the need for the person who disputes the validity needing to investigate the circumstances of the Will and its execution.
This can take a long time. Elements that can prolong the investigation range from communication with third parties and other firms of solicitors, so as to as attain and trace witnesses to the Will and obtaining their statements.
However, the types of disputes in an estate administration can be outside of these two instances. Other disputes may be over personal effects of the deceased, if the deceased has left no clear instruction on how the personal property is to be distributed, or even to dispute around who has the right to organise a funeral for the deceased.
What difference can instructing a solicitor make?
In many circumstances, the people who are the executors of an estate will seek to appoint a solicitors to administer the estate on their behalf for reasons of ease and convenience, and to ensure that everything that needs to be done has been .
In many cases, where a solicitor is administering an estate, then there is a smaller chance of a dispute about the administration itself arising.
However, where a solicitor is administering an estate, a dispute can still arise.
In this circumstance it is important for the solicitors dealing with the administration to have either a colleague in their firm who specialises in contentious Probate, or to have a partner firm who has a contentious probate department.
How we can help
Here at Brethertons, we can assist with all aspects of the estate administration process, and in combination handle any contentious probate disputes that arises during the course of an estate administration.
Even from the outset of an administration, it may seem that there is not going to be a dispute, or that no-one will bring a dispute. However, this can quickly change and it is important to have a firm of solicitors on hand who can handle both different aspects of the administration process.
Take professional advice from one of our team
Please email info@brethertons.co.uk or phone 01295 270999 (Banbury Office), 01869 252161 (Bicester Office), 01788 579579 (Rugby Office) or 01242 472747 (Cheltenham) to speak to a member of our Probate Disputes team who can discuss the next steps with you.
David Richards
Comments