Will construction dispute

We were appointed to act for and make representations on behalf of a child, in respect of an estate worth in excess of £11 million, following their parent’s death and the ambiguous terms laid out in the home-made Will.

The challenge

The deceased had left a hand-written home-made Will which sought to divide his estate, which included multiple valuable businesses and properties in England and abroad.

There were several issues with the Will, including significant uncertainty around who was to receive what, whether some of the clauses were conditional upon certain events taking place, and what the executor’s obligations were, to name a few.

The matter was further complicated by a number of factors, namely:

• There were a very large number of parties to the proceedings;
• The estate administration had been very difficult due to how the deceased managed his affairs during his lifetime;
• The estate was almost entirely illiquid as assets comprised of properties and shares;
• Multiple claims against the estate were made by different defendants

Our approach

In this case, multiple issues required careful consideration and navigation to achieve the best possible outcome for our client. We negotiated with all of the parties and worked alongside them to ensure that our client’s interests were fully considered and taken into account by the judge at trial.

The outcome

The trial concluded with most issues, in so far as they concerned our client, being decided favourably.

How we made a difference

We have a large highly specialised team which has considerable expertise in will construction disputes. We were therefore well placed to represent our client, a child unable to represent themselves, in this complex high value dispute.