Child arrangements – The rights of grandparents
Deciding who inherits the family home has always had the potential to divide families, but the numbers now confirm what many private client lawyers have been seeing for some time – contested estates are becoming far more common.
Probate caveats, the formal notices used to pause the granting of probate while concerns are investigated, topped 11,300 in 2025, remaining close to the record set the previous year. A
record 1,217 disputed probate cases were filed at the High Court in 2025, a rise of almost 13 per cent on 2024 and an estimated 10,000 people a year now contest a will informally, without ever reaching court.
Why disputes are increasing
Several factors are driving the trend, but rising property values mean more estates, including modest family homes, now carry significant financial stakes for potential beneficiaries.
The freeze on Inheritance Tax thresholds, extended to 2030/31, is pulling more estates into scope and sharpening every disagreement about who receives what assets.
Family structures are also more complex than they once were. Second marriages, blended families and estranged relatives all increase the likelihood that more than one person believes they have a legitimate claim on an estate.
An ageing population brings a further complication, as an increase in people with dementia brings challenges based on a person’s mental capacity to make or update a Will.
The most common grounds for a dispute
Contested probate cases rely on a limited number of grounds:
- Lack of testamentary capacity – Where it is argued the person did not understand the nature or effect of their will when it was made.
- Undue influence – Where someone is said to have pressured the person into making or changing their Will.
- Improper execution – Where the Will was not signed or witnessed correctly
- Lack of reasonable financial provision – Where a spouse, former spouse, child or dependant believes the will fails to provide for them adequately
- Disputes over the administration of the estate – This might include how executors are managing assets or communicating with beneficiaries
Reducing the risk before it arises
The good news is that many probate disputes are avoidable with careful planning prior to a person’s death.
A Will drafted with proper capacity assessments, clear reasoning for any unusual decisions and independent witnesses is far harder to challenge successfully.
Keeping a Will under regular review, particularly after a marriage, divorce, bereavement or significant change in family circumstances, also reduces the risk of it being out of step with the person’s actual wishes by the time it matters.
Where a dispute does arise, a probate caveat can buy valuable time to investigate concerns properly and many disputes are ultimately resolved through mediation rather than a lengthy and costly court process.
If you are concerned about the validity of a will, believe you have not been reasonably provided for or are an executor facing a challenge to an estate, our contentious probate team can advise on the best way forward. Please get in touch for a confidential discussion.
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