The England and Wales process for contesting a will: choosing the claim, caveats, evidence, CPR Part 57 proceedings, settlement and costs risk.
This guide is part of ProbateHelp's Will Disputes guide cluster. Estimated reading time: 14 min.
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Identify the legal claim and whether a grant has issued. Preserve the will and surrounding evidence, check the probate record, and obtain specialist advice. If a relevant pre-grant dispute exists, a caveat may be appropriate, but it does not prove the claim.
No. A caveat temporarily prevents a grant from being issued. It gives time for a relevant dispute to be investigated or resolved, but validity is decided by agreement through the proper process or by the court.
There is no probate-specific Civil Procedure Rules pre-action protocol. The general Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct applies, including proportionate information exchange and consideration of settlement and ADR.
Not always. A probate order affects the status of a testamentary document and potentially people who are not at the negotiating table. CPR Part 57 and Practice Direction 57 provide routes for court approval or determination, including safeguards for affected beneficiaries.
There is no dependable standard duration. The issues, number of parties, expert evidence, interim applications, disclosure, settlement and court listing all matter. Ask for a staged timetable and budget based on the particular case.
No. Contested probate costs are discretionary. The result, conduct, offers, ADR and the reasons for the dispute can all matter. A personal representative should not assume that using estate money removes personal costs risk.