Published in EXPRESS (UK) | Personal Finance
By Harvey Jones on March 18th, 2024
Every year 10,000 people go to war with their own family over an inheritance. It’s tearing people apart and this is only the start.
Your last will and testament is supposed to be your final say on who you want to benefit from your worldly wealth when you die, but it does not always work out that way. Increasingly, it could trigger a war of words instead. Three quarters of us are likely to experience a will, inheritance or probate dispute in our lifetimes and it’s not just an inter-family squabble.
The single most common reason for somebody to contest a will or launch a fight over probate is that they are not happy with the inheritance they receive. Families also argue over individual possessions…
The main reason for the rise in the number of disputes is that there is now more wealth to fight over, due to the rising value of assets such as family homes. With more money involved, passions are inflamed as the stakes are much higher. It’s not the only factor, though. As people live longer more suffer from dementia, which leads to an increase in claims of undue influence by other family members.
Stephen Lawson, Chair of the Law Society’s Wills and Equity Committee
