Can anyone help with this situation? My mother passed away last year and in her will, she excluded one family member due to that persons thoroughly rotten and bullying behaviour towards her. This person knows fully why he was excluded, yet seeks to challenge the validity of the will. This person has no case, and he knows that, but he has chosen the route of challenging the will as this allows him to put a caveat in place. This caveat has been challenged and confirmed, so now it is permanent. The caveator has no intention of taking any action because he will not succeed. However, the system appears to allow him to simply do nothing. He has expressed his intention to simply wait for as long as it takes until I am forced to give in to his demands, which is to allow him a cut of the estate.

How can a system designed to protect the estate allow this state of affairs to exist? I am using a solicitor, but like others here have commented - I am running up huge bills and getting nowhere while the caveator simply ignorres my solicitor's letters and sits smugly and waits. Any suggestions?

A couple o sites which explain the process for caveats including extension of the initial 6 months time limit and process when an 'appearance is entered'.

www.probate.uk.com/caveat_stopping_probate.html

www.stephensons.co.uk/site/individuals/contesting_.../

The question implies that an appearnce has been entered and that the caveat is a permanent block on proceedings.

As already suggested legal advice is next step. Unfortunately that will get very expensive very quickly with at least some cost falling on the estate and/or the person applying for Probate. Discussions should include possibility of some form of Alternative/Proportionate Dispute Resolution such as mediation, conciliation or arbitration.

The questioner may need to step back from the facts/perceptions about the will and act pragmatically for benefit of all beneficiaries (o/wise lawyers get the money!!)

Edited by Bromptonaut on 09/09/2014 at 15:27

Sound advice - seek legal advice.

From personal experiance (a tribunal by the way) I am no longer under the illusion that the justice system will deliver justice. The only thing you will get is a bill from the legal chaps and a feeling that you've been hard done by.

In future I intend to have nothing to do with the legal system unless no other option is available to me.

I had to engage a solicitor when the neighbour of my late mother opened up a boundary dispute. As a result of that I came to the conclusion that although some solicitors are honest decent people, many have no moral compass and their aim is to maximise their profit by ensuring that the dispute continues. There are many many examples of huge sums of money spent on legal fees for no gain, although the legal profession does nicely out of it. It has little to do with justice and is a self serving monopoly, with little regulation except in the most egregious cases. It is best to avoid any dealings with solicitors if at all possible. Find out as much as you can from online sources.

"I know this is an old thread..."

Yeah, we know it's an old thread too, and old threads mostly get resurrected by people who want to plant spam.