Recent research highlights the increasing likelihood of disputes over inheritance. According to Direct Line Life Insurance, 12.6 million british adults would be prepared to dispute a Will and go to court if they disagreed with the division of their relative\u2019s estate.<\/p>\n
On average, 22% of UK residents would contest a loved one\u2019s Will, 13% would be willing to contest their parent\u2019s Will, and 11% would contest their partner\u2019s Will*.<\/p>\n
Residents in Southampton are the most likely to contest a loved one\u2019s Will with 31% of residents stating that they would do so. This is closely followed by London and Norwich where 29% would be willing to contest a Will.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, only 11% of residents in Sheffield would contest their loved one\u2019s Will if they did not agree with how the estate was to be distributed.<\/p>\n
Last year, we reported how a record number of inheritance disputes were reaching the High Court under the Inheritance Act, with 116 cases bought to the court in 2015, in comparison to just 15 in 2005.<\/p>\n
This new research from Direct Line Life Insurance suggests that the number of inheritance disputes will continue to rise as a large proportion of UK adults are prepared to contest a Will.<\/p>\n
Kings Court Trust\u2019s 2018 report \u2018Changing family dynamics: The Will writing industry in 2018\u2019 revealed that one in twenty people (5%) have been in a dispute with someone about the contents of a Will. At Kings Court Trust all we do is take care of estate administration on behalf of bereaved families, and year on year we continue to see a rise in the number of families in the midst of a dispute.<\/p>\n
First and foremost, it\u2019s important for everyone to have a valid Will which outlines their wishes. If someone dies without a Will, the estate would be distributed following the rules of intestacy and those closest to the deceased may not necessarily inherit.<\/p>\n
For example, a life-long friend, caregiver or step-child would lose out under intestacy and the nearest, entitled, blood relative may be a distant cousin.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s society, it is not always enough to just have a Will as it could be contested under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. However, there are precautions that can be taken to reduce the risk of disputes. Discussing the contents of the Will and explaining how the estate will be distributed to loved ones can take away the element of surprise and help relatives to understand the wishes in the Will.<\/p>\n
Additionally, many people would argue that some of the responsibility also lies with the Will writer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe big challenge is the idea that everybody needs a Will, as long as you have a Will, then that\u2019s it. But people may have done it wrong, or a better Will would be more suited to the family. It is scary how many Will writers and solicitors do simplistic Wills without thinking through the implications.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Richard Hodge, Director of Wills and Estate Planning at\u00a0 Family Matters.<\/em><\/p>\n
Will writers should ensure that each individual\u2019s family dynamics are taken into account. A Will that has considered the make-up of the family and all eventualities is less likely to be contested and the estate is more likely to be protected.<\/p>\n
Taking these necessary steps to ensure the right Will is in place and the family are aware of how the estate will be distributed, should reduce the risk of inheritance disputes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Inheritance disputes set to increase as more British adults are willing to dispute a Will Recent research highlights the increasing likelihood of disputes over inheritance. According to Direct Line Life Insurance, 12.6 million british adults would be prepared to dispute a Will and go to court if they disagreed with the division of their relative\u2019s estate. On average, 22% of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":990004,"featured_media":1257,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Inheritance & Will Disputes to Increase | Family Matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There are more chances of a Will being disputed today as more adults are willing and prepared to do so. Make sure your Will is professionally written.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inheritance & Will Disputes to Increase | Family Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are more chances of a Will being disputed today as more adults are willing and prepared to do so. Make sure your Will is professionally written.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Family Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/familymatt3rs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-02-21T13:30:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-05-12T11:20:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Inheritance-disputes.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"627\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"karen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@FamilyMatt3rs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@FamilyMatt3rs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"karen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"karen\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/5a38f64e839e7aa3e3293d03e10094ae\"},\"headline\":\"Inheritance Disputes Set To Increase\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-02-21T13:30:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-12T11:20:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/\"},\"wordCount\":602,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Uncategorized\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/\",\"name\":\"Inheritance & Will Disputes to Increase | Family Matters\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-02-21T13:30:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-12T11:20:25+00:00\",\"description\":\"There are more chances of a Will being disputed today as more adults are willing and prepared to do so. Make sure your Will is professionally written.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Inheritance Disputes Set To Increase\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Family Matters\",\"description\":\"Where ever your life\u2019s journey takes you, we will always be with you\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Family Matters\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/fm-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/fm-logo.png\",\"width\":403,\"height\":200,\"caption\":\"Family Matters\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/familymatt3rs\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FamilyMatt3rs\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/5a38f64e839e7aa3e3293d03e10094ae\",\"name\":\"karen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca6fcecd101c89f8905559c356e9916f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca6fcecd101c89f8905559c356e9916f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"karen\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/author\/karen\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Inheritance & Will Disputes to Increase | Family Matters","description":"There are more chances of a Will being disputed today as more adults are willing and prepared to do so. Make sure your Will is professionally written.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Inheritance & Will Disputes to Increase | Family Matters","og_description":"There are more chances of a Will being disputed today as more adults are willing and prepared to do so. Make sure your Will is professionally written.","og_url":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/","og_site_name":"Family Matters","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/familymatt3rs\/","article_published_time":"2020-02-21T13:30:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-05-12T11:20:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":627,"url":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Inheritance-disputes.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"karen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@FamilyMatt3rs","twitter_site":"@FamilyMatt3rs","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"karen","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/"},"author":{"name":"karen","@id":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/5a38f64e839e7aa3e3293d03e10094ae"},"headline":"Inheritance Disputes Set To Increase","datePublished":"2020-02-21T13:30:12+00:00","dateModified":"2020-05-12T11:20:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/"},"wordCount":602,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Uncategorized"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/","url":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/","name":"Inheritance & Will Disputes to Increase | Family Matters","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-02-21T13:30:12+00:00","dateModified":"2020-05-12T11:20:25+00:00","description":"There are more chances of a Will being disputed today as more adults are willing and prepared to do so. Make sure your Will is professionally written.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/inheritance-disputes-set-to-increase\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Inheritance Disputes Set To Increase"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/","name":"Family Matters","description":"Where ever your life\u2019s journey takes you, we will always be with you","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#organization","name":"Family Matters","url":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/fm-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/fm-logo.png","width":403,"height":200,"caption":"Family Matters"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/familymatt3rs\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/FamilyMatt3rs"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/5a38f64e839e7aa3e3293d03e10094ae","name":"karen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca6fcecd101c89f8905559c356e9916f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca6fcecd101c89f8905559c356e9916f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"karen"},"url":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/author\/karen\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1256"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/990004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1256"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1915,"href":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1256\/revisions\/1915"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}