Negligent Will Drafters

Unfortunately people make mistakes and this applies equally to professionals.

However, every professional has a legal obligation to act with the required skill and care and this applies equally to those who draft Wills.

If you feel that a Will has been drafted negligently and you think that you have suffered we may be able to help.

We may be able to act for you in bringing a claim under a ‘no win no fee’ agreement.

We recognise that every situation is different in regards to challenging a will however in our experience we find that negligence claims mainly fall into the following:

  1. Sometimes the Will writer may misunderstand or misinterpret the intentions of the person making the Will. This can result in the gift or share of the estate passing to someone other than the intended person.
  2. In some Wills, it is clear that the instructions of the deceased were not carried through to the Will itself and that therefore the document does not accurately reflect the wishes of the deceased. For example, gifts or items or cash being omitted from the Will or a person being missed from a group of beneficiaries.
  3. In some circumstances a Will writer has a duty to ensure that the person making the Will owns the property they are leaving and if they fail to do so he may be negligent.
  4. Sometimes it is the actual wording of a Will, which causes the problem. Either the Will has been so poorly drafted that it is impossible to interpret what the deceased intended or in some cases clauses within the Will actually contradict each other and it is unclear which is intended to take priority.
  5. If it is made clear to the Will writer, or should be clear from the circumstances, that the Will needs to be finalised quickly then the Will writer is expected to act quickly and if he fails to do so he may be negligent.

This is not an exhaustive list but if you think that any of these points apply to your circumstances then please contact us and one of our advisors will contact you regarding possibly contesting a will.

There are strict time limits for bringing claims please click here for guidance.