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Wills & Probate

Our Wills and Probate Solicitors in Basingstoke offer support and legal advice for families across Hampshire, Surrey and the South East.  We understand how to protect you, your assets and your family as you move into older age.

Why not contact our Wills and Probate Solicitors today to discuss your requirement?

About Wills and Probate

We can never be sure what the future holds but we can each take steps to anticipate and manage life's changes.

At Phillips we have been helping individual clients to manage their family affairs and advising them on all aspects of Wills, trusts and related matters for many years. Our clients come from all walks of life and each has the personal attention of one of our private client team - someone who will give them expert advice, no matter how sensitive the problem may be.

Clients often ask what they should bring to their first meeting with us. We want to reassure you that the most important thing is to bring yourselves and not to worry.  However, we do need to gather quite a lot of information about your case and so it can be helpful if you come armed with some essential information - then we can make sure that the time we spend together is most productive for you.

Click here to see what sort of information you'll need to bring to our first meeting.

Wills

Whether single, married or a parent, Wills are a key element in estate planning and, without a will you are unable to control what happens to your assets after death.

You may leave your dependents with numerous problems, including an unmanageable tax burden; and yet the Law Society reports that more than two out of three people have not made a Will.

Without a Will, the law will determine how your estate will be distributed, so your family, friends and favourite charities may not receive what they need or expect.  If you do not make a Will, those you leave behind may suffer the distress of coping with legal complications as well as losing a loved one.

Many married people believe that their possessions would automatically go to their partner.  Without a Will, though, that is not necessarily the case.  And if you are not married, your partner could receive nothing.

We can help you to make the correct provisions in your will and ensure that your wishes are carried out:

  • Draw up your Will, making provision for all the people important to you
  • Ensure that your wishes are carried out and that you fully understand the draft
  • Advise on Inheritance Tax to minimise your tax liabilities
  • Advise on your assets to ensure wealth protection
  • Arrange signing of your Will and retain it for safe-keeping

Making a legally valid Will is the only way to be sure that, in the event of your death, your money and possessions go to the people and causes you care about.

Disputed wills

On some occasions people may dispute the contents of a Will. The most common grounds for challenging a disputed Will are:

  • Lack of capacity - the person making the Will lacked the mental capacity to understand what they were doing when they made the Will.  This is sometimes described as "not of sound mind and understanding"
  • Where the person making the Will did not understand the effect of what they were doing
  • Where the Will was made under undue influence or some type of pressure
  • Where statutory requirements failed - a Will must be made in accordance with the strict procedural requirements of The Wills Act 1837 in terms of how the Will is signed and witnessed.
  • Fraud - where there is a forged Will, which was not signed by the testator
  • Proprietory Estopple (where the deceased had promised a person a legacy in his Will in return for doing something or acting to his detriment, (for example ‘if you give up your job to look after me I will leave you something in my Will')

Inheritance disputes, disputed Wills and contentious probate issues

Our litigation team works closely with our Wills and Probate team providing expert advice in the highly specialist field of contentious probate, inheritance disputes and disputed Wills.

If you have any of the following issues, get in touch today: 

  • Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
  • Disputed Wills due to lack of capacity meaning the person making the Will lacked the mental capacity to understand what they were doing when they made the Will.  This is sometimes described as "not of sound mind and understanding"
  • Disputed Wills where the Will was made under undue influence or some type of pressure
  • Disputed Wills where statutory requirements have failed and the Will was not made in accordance with the strict procedural requirements of The Wills Act 1837 in terms of how the Will is signed and witnessed.
  • Disputes involving Executors or Trustees
  • Disputes based on allegations of fraud where the Will was forged and not signed by the testator
  • Disputes in relation to the validity of a Will or lifetime gifts
  • Disputes between beneficiaries over the division of assets
  • Disputes concerning intestacy rules and other dependent beneficiaries
  • Disputes concerning Proprietary Estoppel (where the deceased had promised a person a legacy in his Will in return for doing something or acting to his detriment, (for example ‘if you give up your job to look after me I will leave you something in my Will')
  • Disputes concerning Constructive Trust claims

Call Emily Poynter on 01256 854630 or email Emily here


Call or email one of our Wills and Probate solicitors to find out more:

If you need advice on wills and probate, or have a potential dispute over a Will, inheritance or probate why not contact one of our Wills team in Basingstoke: