Resolving disputes

It’s usually distressing when someone dies, and there’s a lot of paperwork and admin involved. In particular, administering their will and dealing with trusts can be tricky, and there are many situations that can lead to a dispute.

Will disputes

What if…

• Executors and beneficiaries disagree about the interpretation of the will or the value of the estate
• Someone claims the deceased lacked capacity (wasn’t in their right mind) when they made the will
• Someone gets upset because they didn’t get as much as they thought they were going to, or was even omitted from the will altogether

Trust disputes

What if…

• There is a dispute over the trust document itself
• People disagree about the intentions of the deceased and whether the trust was set up for the correct reasons
• A trustee didn’t behave properly when dealing with the trust

Contentious probate 

Any dispute due to the administration of the estate after death is known as ‘contentious probate’.

Meet Sarah Robinson, a relatively new (but very experienced) member of our team. Before joining the dispute resolution department at Harrisons, she spent two years as an in-house solicitor, worked at a local firm for 13 years before that, and qualified as a solicitor in 2008 after studying at Aberystwyth University. 

Sarah does all kinds of dispute resolution work, and has recently completed The Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS) course, which enables her to apply to become a member of ACTAPS association. This is generally seen as the ‘Gold Standard’ for practitioners who work in this contentious area of law.

ACTAPS provides Sarah with the skills and knowledge to be able to deal sensitively with disputes about wills, probate and trusts, and to ensure that everything is done to reach the best solution for our clients.

What next? 

For more information, please contact Sarah on 01938 552545.