How can a Will be challenged – I have been left out or not provided for properly?

If a Will is valid/has been signed properly, is not a forgery, was made when the person who has passed away had mental capacity, and someone is disappointed that they have not been included, generally it would be the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975, that could be used to bring a claim against the estate.
Under this Act, certain individuals have the right to make a claim for having been missed out of someone’s Will, or for not having been provided sufficiently The categories of people who can make a claim are as follows: 

• The spouse or civil partner of the person that has passed away.
• A former spouse or civil partner who has not remarried or entered into a new civil partnership.
• A person that was cohabiting with the deceased (perhaps as “common law” spouses or partners) for at least two years before that person passed away.
• A child of the person has passed away.
• A person that was treated as a child of the deceased,
• Someone that was financially dependent on the person that passed away.

What are relevant factors the Court will take into account when such a claim is made?

There are lots of different factors that the Court would look at and are relevant to this sort of claim. These can include the following: –

• The value of the estate.
• The financial resources of the person making any claim and their financial needs.
• The financial resources and needs of any other party involved as a beneficiary in the estate.
• Any responsibilities or obligations that the person that passed away had towards any beneficiaries in the estate.

Is there a time limit for making such a claim?

There is a fairly strict deadline in relation to making a claim. Generally speaking, a claim must be issued within six months of the Grant of Representation issuing to be valid and accepted by the Court. The Court then have a further four months to serve the proceedings on personal representatives. There are fairly rare cases when a claim can be brought out of time.

If a claim is made, does this automatically mean that the parties will end up going to Court?

It would be hoped that this would be unlikely. Court proceedings are very expensive and obviously stressful on those involved. It will be more usual for a claim to be negotiated or be dealt with via perhaps alternative dispute resolution such as mediation.