A bereavement can be a difficult thing to suffer. If you’re having to deal with the emotional impact of the loss, then the administrative burden can be difficult to handle. This goes especially if the estate of the deceased is complicated, or there’s a dispute about what passes to who.
For this reason, it’s always worth composing a will of your own. This will contain specific instructions that will help to remove uncertainty in the wake of your death, and provide clarity for your nearest and dearest.
With that said, a will isn’t a flawless solution. Sometimes, there can be technical and legal problems related to the will and its execution. Let’s see if we can anticipate six of those problems, and see how they might be avoided.
The will is not executed correctly
If the will has not been drafted clearly, then there might be some ambiguity over what was really intended. In some cases, the person drafting the will might have misunderstood what the testator really intended. A retrospective amendment to the will can be the solution. This is a good reason to hire an experienced and reputable probate solicitor.
The deceased was not in a mental state compatible with making the will
If the deceased was not of sound mind, then they might have made decisions in the will that they would not otherwise have made. For this reason, it’s a good idea for testators to get the opinion of a medical professional before making the will. This will make the will more difficult to challenge later on.
The will doesn’t provide one of the individuals reasonable financial share
The Inheritance Act 1975 entitles certain individuals with a share of the estate, and the court can intervene to ensure this happens, regardless of what’s written in the will. This is usually done in cases where the individual who’s been left out was financially dependent on the deceased.
The person named executor does not accept the role
Executors are not legally bound to accept the role foisted on them by a will. If the nominated executor cannot accept their responsibility, then another executor will need to be found.
Problems with inventory
If it’s difficult to determine what the testator actually owned, then it can be difficult to divide up and distribute the estate. For this reason, it’s worth being explicit about who gets what. Any ambiguity here is going to result in considerable trouble later on – so make sure that it’s addressed as early as possible.
The testator got married
In most cases, if a testator makes a will while single and then marries, then the marriage will invalidate the will. Exceptions occur when a specific clause about the marriage has been inserted into the will to clear things up.
