Contesting A Will

[Rod Serling]

MY WIFE'S UNCLE HAS JUST DIED. WE BELIEVE A LOCAL SOLICITOR, WHO WAS TENOUSLY KNOWN TO THE DECEASED, HAS GOT HIM TO WRITE A NEW WILL (ABOUT A YEAR AGO) IN HIS (THE SOLICTOR'S) FAVOUR, ALTHOUGH WE DONT KNOW THIS UNTIL THE WILL IS READ. MY WIFE (WHO IS ONE OF FOUR NEPHEWS & NIECES) ARE THE ONLY REMAINING BLOOD RELATIVES. THEY AE NOT, HOWEVER DEPENDANTS AS SUCH, BUT THEY ARE MORE FLESH & BLOOD THAN THE SOLICITOR, WHO WAS JUST A 'FRIEND' TO THE DECEASED, AND HAD NOT FEATUIRED IN THE PREVIOUS WILL, NOR WAS HE A FRIEND AT THE TIME THE DECEASED LOST HIS WIFE SOME 18 MONTHS AGO - ALL A BIT STRANGE! YES, IT DOES SOUND LIKE SOUR GRAPES ON MY WIFE'S FAMILY'S PART NOW. I GUESS, AS A SOLICITOR, HE HAS TO BE WHITER THAT WHITE WHEN AR AS THE LAW IS CONCERNED, OR HE WILL BE HAULED OVER THE COALS BY THE LAW SOCIETY. HE WOULD BE AWARE OF THE LAW A LOT MORE THAN US MERE MORTALS, THOUGH! THE DECEASED DID HAVE HIS MARBLES AT THE TIME OF DEATH, SO IT WILL BE VERY HARD TO CONTEST, AND WE'RE NOT DEPENDANT...

[legaladvocate]

Generally speaking, the deceased's estate is distributed in the following priority:

1. A surviving spouse or civil partner
2. Children and their descendants
3. Parents
4. Siblings
5. Siblings' descendants
6. Grandparents
7. Parents' siblings
8. Parents' siblings' descendants

https://www.goinglegal.co.uk/contesting-a-will/

Some of the most common grounds for contesting a Will in the UK are: Invalidity, Financial dependence, Fraud, Promised inheritance, Moral issues, Lost or destroyed Will, Laws of Intestacy, Unreceived inheritance, Mental incapacity and Third party beneficiaries. There are If you wish to contest a Will for a claim under the Inheritance Act, the time limit is 6 months. However, there is no time limit for contesting a will on the grounds of fraud.