Most lawyers can tell you that the most distressed people in a County Court waiting area are going to be the ones who are involved in a dispute about the estate of a deceased relative.
The process of divorce is very stressful, but there's something about the suffering of people who feel that, for example, their beloved parent's wishes are being ignored that puts them in a different league.
The law of England and Wales says, first of all, that it must be clear that a 'last will and testament' clearly represents the wishes of the deceased. If the deceased was unwell at the time, or someone was putting pressure on him or her - well, that might mean the will should be ignored. There are a number of things that might leave a question mark over a will.
Even if there are no question marks, however, the law says that certain people - spouses or civil partners, and young children principally, but also anyone who had good and honest reason to believe that the deceased would leave some money or property to him or her, and who has a real need of that money or property - should be able to apply to court to see if it agrees. The law that sets this out, commonly referred to as 'the Inheritance Act', applies whether the will deprives someone of, for example, a place to live or whether they are to be turned out because the deceased never made a will at all.
Whatever the dispute, the worry of having to find the money to pay lawyers is just one more hassle at a time when you may be dealing with tremendous grief and the frustration caused by difficult relatives.
