Who We Are

Who We Are

Willclaim Solicitors is a marketing website operated by Inspire Law Limited in conjunction with JMW Solicitors LLP of 1 Byrom Place, Manchester, M3 3HG and Kings House, 36 to 37 King Street, London EC2V 8BB (SRA number 508380)

We are not a claims management company or firm and we do not sell claims or details of claims to third parties. If you are unable to contact us by email, fax or text the please write to the following address:

Inspire Law Limited
5 St John’s Lane
London
EC1M 4BH
www.inspirelaw.co.uk

Administration centre and company registered office: The Old  Farmhouse, Chapel Lane, Shotteswell, Banbury OX17 1JB

Inspire Law Limited Solicitors are a litigation and dispute resolution legal practice specialising in particular in contentious Will claims, Will disputes, probate claims and trust claims. More information about these types of claim is provided below and elsewhere on this site (in particular under “claim types”).

You can be reassured that the Solicitor handling your case will be a member or associate member of ACTAPS (“Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists”). This means that he or she has completed the ACTAPS diploma or verified that they have considerable experience in this field. For more information please visit www.actaps.com.

In relation to Will claims and Will disputes the grounds for challenging a Will can include a lack of proper formalities (in general that the Will was not signed by the testator in front of two witnesses who also sign in front of each other), lack of testamentary capacity (the most common ground for disputing or challenging a Will), lack of knowledge and approval and undue influence and fraud. Each of these grounds can serve as a foundation to contest a Will or in relation to any Will claim or Will dispute in general where the validity of the Will is in issue. This type of Will dispute or Will claim is most likely to originate before there has been a grant of probate.

These claims can be made before or after there has been a grant of probate (which is the official seal of approval for the validity of a Will after which the estate can be distributed – although as mentioned the legal validity of the Will can still be challenged after the Grant). However the difficulty with raising such a challenge to a Will following the grant of probate must be clear – there is a danger the Will Executors could start to distribute the estate. Once the estate is distributed, it may be difficult to recover any estate assets, even if you prove that the Will under which the estate has been distributed is invalid. It is then recommended that where a Will claim or contested Will claim is proposed, the person bringing the claim and with an interest in the estate of the deceased, considers entering a Caveat to stop the grant of probate. Please note that if a Caveat is entered legal advice should be sought given the difficult legal consequences that can lead from this step. Guidance in relation to entering a caveat can be found on this site under “claim types” and then “Will Validity”.

These contested Will claims or Will contest claims are also known as probate claims or contested probate claims. Whilst in general they amount to claims against the validity of the Will they can also (see “claim types”) include a claim against the estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (a claim for financial provision by a child, partner or spouse), to rectify a will or to substitute or remove Personal Representatives (executors) where there has or is likely to be some wrong doing in the administration of an estate. There can also be claims for part or all of an estate because of an unfulfilled promise by the deceased which led the Claimant to substantially alter his/her position to their considerable detriment (which are often called “Proprietary Estoppel claims”). Sometimes, all of these claims can be run in conjunction with each other.

For (specialist) information on how all these various types of Will challenges, Will contests, Will claims and probate or contested probate claims are dealt with following the issue of court proceedings, the reader should refer to part 57 of the Civil Procedure Rules, which can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at www.justice.gov.uk.

Complaints Procedure

Clients Only
This is our Complaints Procedure. It is this firm’s policy to provide a substantive response to any complaint about work that is carried by us within 14 days of receipt. This policy also applies where the complaint is made about a bill although please note that if you want our bill “assessed” by the court, you must request that within one month of receiving the bill. In relation to any complaint you should write to Malcolm Tuvey at our office address. As mentioned above, you can complain about a bill. We do not charge for the cost of handling a complaint.
Finally, please note that you have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman at the conclusion of our complaints process however you must do this within six months of your last contact with us. For your information you can raise your complaint with the Legal Ombudsman by going to www.legalombudsman.org.uk, by calling 0300 555 0333 or by writing to The Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 15870, Birmingham B30 9E

Non Clients
If you are not a client we can only handle your complaint if you believe that we have acted in breach of the SRA Code of Conduct and can specify the breach. Please send your complaint to Malcolm Tuvey at our office address. We will tell you as soon as reasonably practicable if we consider that there has been a breach and apologise if so. If you are still not satisfied, you may ask the Solicitors Regulation Authority to investigate our conduct:

https://www.sra.org.uk