Contesting a Will UK: Grounds, Process, Costs & Time Limits 2026

How do I contest a will?

1The grounds are a defined list: lack of testamentary capacity (the test in Banks v Goodfellow (1870)), want of knowledge and approval, undue influence, fraud or forgery, failure to comply with section 9 of the Wills Act 1837, and revocation. Unfairness is not among them
2A claim under the Inheritance Act 1975 does not challenge the will at all — it accepts the will is valid and argues it fails to make reasonable financial provision. It must be made within 6 months of the grant, though section 4 also permits an application before a grant is taken out
3Rectification of a clerical error is a separate remedy under section 20 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982, and it carries its own 6-month limit from the grant
4A caveat at the Probate Registry costs £4 and lasts 6 months. If a warning is issued against it, the caveator has 14 days from service — counting the day of service — to enter an appearance or issue a summons for directions
5No official body publishes the cost of a contentious probate claim, the proportion that settle, or success rates by ground. Figures of that kind circulate widely but none has an official source, and none is given on this page

An Inheritance Act claim must be made within six months of the grant. A challenge to the will itself has no fixed statutory period but is controlled by laches. The grounds are a defined list — capacity, knowledge and approval, undue influence, fraud or forgery, defective execution, revocation — and a distribution being unfair is not one of them. Contentious probate is litigation, so an unsuccessful claimant is ordinarily ordered to pay the other side's costs. What that amounts to is not published by any official body.

Challenging a will is litigation. It needs a recognised ground and evidence to support it, and it carries the ordinary costs risk of civil proceedings: a claimant who loses is normally ordered to pay the successful party's costs as well as their own.

This guide sets out the recognised grounds, who has standing, the time limits that attach to each different kind of claim, and how the process runs. Where a figure is not published by an official source — costs, durations, settlement and success rates — this page says so rather than estimating one.

This describes the law of England and Wales. Scotland has confirmation rather than probate, and a spouse, civil partner and children there have legal rights in the moveable estate that a will cannot defeat — a different mechanism from anything on this page. Northern Ireland has its own probate rules and its own equivalent of the 1975 Act, the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) (Northern Ireland) Order 1979.

Valid Grounds for Contesting a Will

UK law only recognizes specific grounds for challenging will validity. You cannot contest simply because you dislike the distribution or feel it's unfair:

1. Lack of Testamentary Capacity

The test comes from Banks v Goodfellow (1870). The testator must have understood:

What a will is and what it does
The extent of their assets
Who has a moral claim on their estate
The effect of including or excluding people

Evidence: medical records covering the period the will was made — dementia, other cognitive impairment, severe mental illness, or medication affecting cognition — and usually an expert opinion addressed to capacity at the date the will was signed. The date is what matters: capacity is assessed then, not months either side.

2. Undue Influence

Someone coerced or pressured the deceased into making the will against their true wishes. Must prove:

Pressure was applied (not just persuasion)
Pressure overpowered deceased's free will
Will reflects influencer's wishes, not deceased's

Evidence needed: Witness testimony of coercion, threatening messages/emails, evidence of isolation from family, sudden change from previous will benefiting influencer, deceased was vulnerable/dependent on influencer. Very difficult to prove.

3. Lack of Valid Execution

Will doesn't meet legal requirements under Wills Act 1837:

It must be in writing and signed by the testator, or by someone else in their presence and at their direction
It must appear that the testator intended by the signature to give effect to the will
The signature must be made or acknowledged in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time
Each witness must then either attest and sign the will, or acknowledge their signature, in the presence of the testator — but not necessarily in the presence of any other witness

A witness who is a beneficiary does not invalidate the will. Section 15 of the Wills Act 1837 makes the gift to an attesting witness, or to their spouse or civil partner, void — the rest of the will stands and the estate is administered without that gift. It is a common mistake to treat this as a ground for setting a will aside; it is not.

Evidence: the will document itself, and statements from the attesting witnesses about what actually happened when it was signed.

4. Fraudulent or Forged Will

Will is not genuine or contains fraudulent provisions:

Signature forged
Entire will fabricated
Provisions inserted without testator's knowledge
Fraudulent misrepresentation to testator

Evidence needed: Handwriting expert analysis, evidence deceased didn't execute will on stated date, proof of forgery. Serious allegation requiring strong proof.

5. Lack of Knowledge and Approval

Deceased didn't know or approve the will's contents:

Blind or illiterate testator not had will read to them
Will drafted by main beneficiary
Suspicious circumstances around execution

Evidence needed: Evidence deceased didn't understand English, was blind/deaf, or beneficiary controlled will drafting process. Different from lack of capacity.

6. Rectification

Will contains clerical error or doesn't reflect testator's instructions due to professional negligence:

Solicitor misunderstood instructions
Typing error changed meaning
Wrong template used

Evidence: the drafting file — instructions, attendance notes and drafts — showing what the testator asked for and where the document departed from it. The court can rectify the will so that it carries out the intention.

Note the separate deadline. Rectification is not a challenge to validity but a statutory remedy under section 20 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982, and it has its own time limit: an application cannot be made more than six months from the date on which representation was first taken out, except with the permission of the court.

7. Revocation

The will put forward was validly made but had been revoked before the death, so it is not the last will. A will is revoked by a later will or codicil, by a written declaration of revocation executed like a will, by destruction with the intention of revoking it, and — unless it was made in expectation of that marriage — by the testator marrying or forming a civil partnership.

Evidence: the later will or codicil, evidence of destruction, or the marriage or civil partnership certificate.

Two things are frequently mistaken for grounds and are not. A distribution being unfair is not a ground — a testator may leave their estate as they choose. And a beneficiary having witnessed the will is not a ground; it voids that gift under section 15, not the will.

Who Can Contest a Will?

You must have "standing" - legitimate interest in the estate:

People with Standing

Current will beneficiaries: Named in will being challenged
Previous will beneficiaries: Named in earlier will that would apply if current will invalid
Intestacy beneficiaries: Would inherit under intestacy rules if no valid will
Dependants: Financially dependent on deceased (can also claim reasonable provision)
Executors: Can defend will but usually don't contest it
Charities: Named as beneficiaries

People WITHOUT Standing

Friends with no inheritance expectation
Distant relatives not entitled under intestacy
People mentioned informally but not in will or previous wills
Creditors (have other remedies)

Note: Adult children who received nothing or inadequate provision can claim under Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for reasonable financial provision. This is different from contesting will validity - you accept will is valid but argue it doesn't make reasonable provision for you.

Time Limits for Contesting

⏰ Critical Time Limits to Know:

Inheritance Act claims: Must start within 6 months of grant of probate (strict deadline)
Rectification under s.20 Administration of Justice Act 1982: also 6 months from the grant, except with the court's permission
Will validity challenges: no period is set by the Limitation Act 1980. Delay is controlled by the equitable doctrine of laches and by the court's discretion. The 12 years sometimes quoted is section 22, which governs a claim to a share of the personal estate, not a challenge to the will
After the estate is distributed: recovering assets from beneficiaries is materially harder, whichever claim is brought

Entering a Caveat

While investigating your claim, enter a caveat at the Probate Registry:

Cost: £4, and it lasts 6 months. It can be extended for a further 6 months, but rule 44 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 requires that application to be made in the last month of the period it is running
Effect: the Probate Registry will not issue a grant. It does not stop distribution of an estate where a grant has already been made
Warning: anyone with a contrary interest can issue a warning (Form 4). The caveator then has 14 days from service, counting the day of service, to enter an appearance (Form 5) or issue a summons for directions. If neither happens, the caveat ceases to have effect
If an appearance is entered: the caveat stays in force until the court orders otherwise, and the matter becomes contentious probate litigation

A caveat entered without a genuine interest in the estate — to delay or pressure an executor — can result in a costs order against the caveator.

What a Contested Claim Costs

No official body publishes these figures

There is no published scale, average or range for the cost of a contentious probate claim in England and Wales. An earlier version of this page carried a stage-by-stage cost table — investigation, letter before action, mediation, pre-trial, trial, and a figure for paying the other side if you lose — together with hourly rates, success-fee percentages and insurance premiums. None of it came from an official source. It has been removed rather than restated, and nothing has been substituted for it.

What is established is the structure of the exposure, and it is the structure rather than any number that determines whether a claim is worth bringing:

Costs generally follow the event. An unsuccessful claimant is ordinarily ordered to pay the successful party's costs as well as their own. The court assesses what is payable, so it is not the whole of the winner's bill
Probate claims are a partial exception. The court has a discretion to order costs out of the estate — for example where the testator's own conduct caused the litigation, or where the circumstances reasonably called for an investigation. Where that happens, the costs come out of what the beneficiaries would otherwise receive
Offers shift the risk. A Part 36 offer, or a Calderbank offer, that a party fails to beat at trial has costs consequences from the date it should have been accepted
Discontinuing is not free. Under CPR 38.6 a claimant who discontinues is liable for the defendant's costs up to the date the notice of discontinuance was served, unless the court orders otherwise
Legal aid. Inheritance and probate disputes are not among the civil problems GOV.UK lists as covered — that list runs to housing, protection from abuse, some family and children matters, discrimination, asylum and inquests. Eligibility in a particular case can be checked at gov.uk/check-legal-aid

How this work is funded

Hourly rates. Billed as the work is done. Rates vary by firm and by the seniority of the fee earner, and are not published centrally
Conditional fee agreement. "No win, no fee". The success fee is a percentage of what is recovered and is payable by the client out of the recovery, not by the losing side. It does not cover the opponent's costs if the claim fails
After-the-event insurance. Bought to cover an adverse costs order. The premium is quoted case by case
Litigation funding. A third party funds the claim in return for a share of any recovery, set by the funding agreement

The Court Process

The stages below are the shape of a contentious probate claim. How long each takes depends on the case and on the court's list, and no official timetable is published for this class of claim, so no durations are given.

1. Pre-action

Evidence and expert opinions are gathered
A letter before action is sent to the executor
The executor responds, usually denying the grounds
The parties engage with alternative dispute resolution — the court can order this under CPR 3.1(2)(o)

2. Issuing proceedings

The claim form is filed in the High Court — Chancery Division or Family Division — or in the County Court
A court fee is payable. Fees are set by statutory instrument and published on GOV.UK; they depend on the type of claim, and are not reproduced here because they change
The claim is served on the executor and interested parties
The executor files a defence

3. Disclosure and evidence

Both sides disclose relevant documents — medical records, the drafting file, earlier wills, correspondence
Witness statements are exchanged, from family, carers and professionals
Expert reports are exchanged, typically a clinician on testamentary capacity
Case management hearings set the timetable and directions

4. Pre-trial

A pre-trial review sets the trial date
Skeleton arguments are exchanged
Trial bundles are prepared for the judge

5. Trial

Witnesses give evidence and are cross-examined
Expert witnesses give opinion evidence
Counsel make legal submissions
Judgment is given at the end of the hearing, or reserved and handed down later
If the will is found invalid, the estate passes under the last valid will, or under the intestacy rules if there is none

When cases tend to settle

Most contentious probate claims are settled rather than tried. No official body publishes a settlement rate, so none is given here. The points at which positions typically move are:

After the letter before action, when the executor assesses the case put against the will
After disclosure, when each side has seen the documents
After the expert evidence on capacity is exchanged
At mediation
Shortly before trial, when the costs exposure is clearest

What Determines the Outcome

No official body publishes success rates for will challenges, by ground or overall. An earlier version of this page gave percentages for each ground; they had no source and have been removed. What can be said is which features of a case the reported decisions turn on.

Features that tend to support a challenge

Contemporaneous medical evidence of impaired capacity at the date of execution, not merely a later diagnosis
A will made during a period of documented decline
A marked departure from a previous will with no explanation on the file
A beneficiary involved in giving the instructions or arranging the execution — the circumstance that raises want of knowledge and approval
Witnesses to the testator's condition or to pressure being applied
Concerns recorded by the testator's own GP or clinician

Features that tend to defeat one

A will prepared by a solicitor whose attendance note records a capacity assessment
A will made well before death, at a time when capacity is not in question
No medical evidence covering the date of execution
Disagreement with the distribution, without a recognised ground
Oral recollection unsupported by any contemporaneous document
A dispute whose value is small relative to the costs of establishing it

The Two Routes, and How They Differ

People often arrive at this subject with one question — "can I do anything about this will?" — and there are two quite different answers, with different requirements and different deadlines.

Route 1: challenging the will's validity

Says the will is not a valid will, on one of the recognised grounds set out above
If it succeeds, the will falls and the estate passes under the last valid will, or under the intestacy rules
Requires standing — an interest that would improve if the will failed
No fixed statutory period, but laches and the court's discretion apply, and evidence deteriorates

Route 2: a claim for reasonable financial provision

An Inheritance Act 1975 claim does not attack the will at all:

It accepts the will is valid and argues it does not make reasonable financial provision for the claimant
The claimant must fall into one of the six categories in section 1(1) — they are alternatives, not cumulative
For a spouse or civil partner, the standard is what it would be reasonable for them to receive in all the circumstances. For everyone else it is the maintenance standard
Six months from the grant, except with the court's permission — and section 4 also allows an application before a grant is taken out
The court weighs the section 3 factors, including the claimant's resources and needs, those of the other beneficiaries, the obligations the deceased had, and the size of the estate

Recurring Misunderstandings

Treating "unfair" as "invalid"

A testator may leave their estate as they choose. Disagreement with the choices made is not a ground for setting a will aside. Where the complaint is about provision rather than validity, the 1975 Act is the route that addresses it.

Thinking a beneficiary witness voids the will

Section 15 of the Wills Act 1837 voids the gift to an attesting witness or their spouse or civil partner. The will itself remains valid.

Assuming the Inheritance Act clock starts at the death

It runs from the date representation is first taken out. A grant can be issued long after a death, and section 4 also allows an application before any grant.

Assuming a caveat protects a 1975 Act claim

A caveat prevents a grant issuing. Because the six months run from the grant, a caveat delays the start of that period rather than preserving a claim. It also does nothing once a grant has already been made.

Treating engagement with mediation as optional

CPR 1.4(2)(e) makes ordering or encouraging ADR part of the court's case management, and CPR 3.1(2)(o) gives an express power to order the parties to engage in it. An unreasonable refusal can attract a costs order even against a party who wins.

Alleging fraud or forgery without evidence

These are serious allegations that must be properly particularised and proved. Making them without a basis can itself result in an adverse costs order.