When Silence Leads to Conflict: The Most Common Disputes We See After Someone Dies

One of the most common disputes in this area involves allegations that a Will is invalid.

There are limited grounds to challenge a Will which are:

• The deceased lacked testamentary capacity to make the Will.
• The Will was not properly executed.
• The deceased did not understand or approve the contents of the Will.
• The Will was made as a result of undue influence.
• The Will is a fraudulent document or has been obtained through forgery.

Where a Will is found to be invalid, the estate will instead be distributed under a previous Will or, if there is no previous Will, the intestacy rules.

If the latter, the estate will be distributed amongst family members according to a strict order of priority.

To have a viable claim, you must obtain evidence in support of whichever ground you are relying on. What type of evidence you need depends on both the ground relied on and the individual facts of the case.

Executors play a vital role in administering an estate.

However, executor disputes can and do regularly arise when beneficiaries become concerned about how an executor is carrying out their duties.

Common complaints we see include:

• Delays in the executor administering the estate;
• Poor communication from the executor;
• Failure to provide estate accounts or other relevant information/documentation;
• Mismanagement of assets; or
• Allegations of conflicts of interest.

If you are worried about an executor’s conduct, you should initially consider writing to them to set out your concerns formally.

This can often help to clarify any misunderstanding and provides the executor with an opportunity to rectify any wrongdoing.

Having the executor’s responses in writing can also be helpful if court proceedings are required later on.

In serious cases where the executor’s conduct is to the estate’s detriment, the Court can remove and replace an executor with someone else. This can be a family member, friend or someone completely independent such as a solicitor.

Silence during a lifetime is also often at the core of proprietary estoppel disputes.

We regularly encounter situations in which someone claims they were promised a property, business, or other asset, only to discover after death that there is no written record and no mention of it in the Will.

These cases frequently arise when assurances are given informally, behind closed doors, and are never properly documented or explained to others.

Problems arise when the deceased changes their mind about leaving the asset as they had assured the person they would, and does not explain this decision to the person.

When intentions are not recorded in writing or discussed openly, expectations can grow unchecked.

Family members may shape life decisions around those promises, for example, working in a family business, caring for the deceased, or remaining in a property believing their future is secure. It is only after death that the conflict surfaces.

These circumstances can give rise to proprietary estoppel claims, in which the court will seek to give effect to the broken promise.

Such disputes are often emotionally charged and difficult to resolve, relying heavily on piecing together past conversations, conduct, and assumptions.

In many cases, the dispute could have been avoided had the deceased clearly set out their intentions during their lifetime or ensured their Will reflected the promises they had made.

When the original Will cannot be located, questions arise about what happened to it – for example, whether the Will was simply lost or if the deceased intentionally destroyed it.

In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Probate Registry will assume the deceased destroyed the Will with the intention of revoking it.

If there is evidence that the original Will was lost rather than destroyed, it can be possible to apply for a Grant based on a copy of the Will.

It can be difficult to prove copy Wills and so it is important to gather as much evidence as possible to support your position.

One of the most frequent triggers for a dispute is the absence of a valid Will, i.e. when a person dies intestate.

When someone dies intestate, their estate is distributed in accordance with the intestacy rules, which are set out in law, regardless of their personal wishes.

This can lead to significant problems arising, particularly for unmarried partners, stepchildren, or others who were financially dependent on the deceased but are excluded under the intestacy rules.

These circumstances often form the background to claims being brought against the estate.