What Happens if a Will Challenge Succeeds: Practical Outcomes

What Does a Successful Will Challenge Actually Mean?

A successful will challenge — on grounds of lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, lack of valid execution, fraud, or lack of knowledge and approval — results in a court order declaring the will invalid. The will has no legal effect.

This is a declaration that the document purporting to be the deceased's last will is not a valid will. It does not mean the estate is automatically distributed in the way the challenger wanted — it means the will that was challenged simply falls away.

For an overview of the grounds on which a will can be challenged, see our guide on the grounds for contesting a will.

What Happens to the Estate: Previous Will or Intestacy

Once the challenged will is declared invalid, the estate must be administered under whatever governs in its absence:

1. A Previous Valid Will Exists

If the deceased made an earlier will that was not revoked (or that was not itself invalid), that will governs the estate. The executors named in the earlier will have authority to administer. The estate is distributed according to the earlier will's terms.

This can produce unexpected results. If an earlier will benefited different people from the challenged will, the outcome of a successful challenge may not benefit the challenger at all — it may simply benefit different beneficiaries under the earlier will. Anyone considering a will challenge should establish what the position would be if the challenge succeeded before committing to expensive litigation.

2. No Earlier Valid Will: Intestacy Rules Apply

If there is no earlier valid will, the estate is distributed under the intestacy rules. This may or may not benefit the challenger depending on their relationship to the deceased.

For example, an unmarried partner who challenges the deceased's will successfully may find that the intestacy rules — which give nothing to unmarried partners — leave them no better off than the invalid will. In such cases, the Inheritance Act 1975 may need to be used alongside the will challenge. For the intestacy rules, see our guide on what happens if there is no will.

Partial Invalidity: Where Only Part of the Will Fails

Not every will challenge results in the entire will being declared invalid. Partial invalidity is possible:

• Where undue influence affected only one or more specific gifts (but not the whole will), those gifts may be invalid while the rest of the will stands
• Where a codicil (amendment to the will) is invalid, the underlying will may remain valid
• Where a specific clause of the will is ambiguous or invalid for construction reasons (not a capacity or undue influence ground), only that clause may fail — the rest stands

Partial invalidity is more likely in undue influence cases where the alleged influence was directed at specific provisions, rather than in capacity cases where the deceased either had testamentary capacity at the relevant time or did not.

What Happens to the Grant of Probate?

If a Grant of Probate was issued based on the now-invalid will, it will be revoked by the Probate Registry once the court order declaring the will invalid is received. A new grant — either under the earlier valid will or as letters of administration in intestacy — will then be issued to the appropriate person.

This is a significant procedural step. The executor under the invalid will loses their authority to act from the date the grant is revoked. Any actions taken by that executor between the date of the original grant and revocation are not automatically invalid — acts done in good faith before revocation may be protected.

For the general probate process, see our guide to applying for probate and our complete UK probate guide.

Recovery of Distributed Assets

If assets have already been distributed under the now-invalid will, those distributions were made without authority. In principle, the recipients hold the assets on constructive trust for the true beneficiaries and are required to return them.

In practice, recovery is difficult:

• If the recipient has spent the money, there may be no asset to recover and a personal claim for the value may be the only option — which depends on the recipient having sufficient means
• If assets have been transferred to third parties in good faith and for value, recovery from those third parties may not be possible
• Tracing distributed assets through multiple hands is complex and expensive
• A beneficiary who received property under an invalid will is subject to a personal liability to account — but personal claims against an insolvent person have no practical value

This is one of the most important reasons to enter a caveat immediately when a will challenge is contemplated — preventing the estate from being distributed under the challenged will avoids the difficult recovery issue entirely. See our guide on how to enter a caveat.

A Successful Inheritance Act Claim: Different Outcome

A successful Inheritance Act 1975 claim has a different outcome from a successful will validity challenge. The will remains valid — it is not declared invalid. Instead, the court makes an order for reasonable financial provision to be made from the estate for the applicant.

The court's orders can include:

• A lump sum payment from the estate
• Periodical payments
• Transfer of specific property to the applicant
• Settlement of property
• Variation of ante-nuptial or post-nuptial settlements

The estate is reduced by the amount of any order, which comes at the expense of the other beneficiaries. For a full guide to Inheritance Act claims, see our guide on Inheritance Act 1975 claims.

Costs After a Successful Challenge

Costs in contentious probate cases are in the court's discretion. A successful challenger will typically seek a costs order against the unsuccessful defendant. However:

• The court may order costs from the estate where the dispute arose from the testator's own actions or the circumstances of the will's making
• The court may decline to order full costs against the losing party where they had reasonable grounds for defending
• Costs are rarely fully recovered even by a successful party — costs orders typically cover 60–70% of actual costs

For the full picture on costs, see our guide on costs in contentious probate.

Practical Steps After a Successful Challenge

• Apply for revocation of the existing grant and issue of a new grant under the earlier will or intestacy
• Notify banks, financial institutions, and HMRC of the change in the estate's legal basis
• Consider whether any IHT returns need to be amended — the estate distribution has changed
• Take steps to recover distributed assets if any were paid out under the invalid will — consult a specialist on tracing and recovery
• Consider mediation to resolve any remaining disputes about the estate administration — see our guide on mediation in estate disputes
• Monitor any time limits — if an Inheritance Act claim is also contemplated, note the 6-month deadline from the new grant. See our guide on time limits for contesting a will

For the full contentious probate picture, see our introduction to contentious probate.

For the estate administration once the challenge is resolved, see our estate administration checklist. For the documents involved in probate, see our guide on what documents you need for probate.

Get started with Farra for a personalised estate administration task list.