Jan Atkinson, Head of Wills, Probate and Estate Administration comments on the increase in contested Wills

20 Apr 2020 | Jan Atkinson

The Sunday Times newspaper article. 19th April 2020, headlined More families going to war over willsprovided an insight on recent developments surrounding families contesting wills.

Speaking to their reporter, Kenza Bryan, Jan Atkinson was asked to explain the usual ways a will can be challenged. This could be either:

  • to claim that the person who wrote the will was under undue influence from others, or
  • they did not have the mental capacity to properly administer their affairs.

Jan was asked too about a will writer being able to insert a clause saying a beneficiary will receive nothing if they decide to challenge. Jan commented that this would raise suspicions regarding a will’s legitimacy.

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