Can I Contest a Will?

Yes, you can contest a will in England and Wales, but you need a recognised legal reason to do so. Being unhappy with what a will says is not, on its own, grounds for a challenge. This guide explains the main grounds for contesting a will, who can bring a claim, and why acting quickly matters.

If you believe you have a reason to challenge a will, seek specialist advice as soon as possible. Time limits apply, and early action gives you the best chance of protecting your position.

You may also want to read our guides to the probate caveat, which is often the first practical step, and the probate standing search, which tells you when a grant is issued.

The two categories of will challenge

There are two broad types of challenge. The first questions whether the will is legally valid at all. The second accepts that the will is valid, but argues that its contents are unfair or fail to make proper provision for certain people.

Both categories involve complex legal arguments. Both may require court proceedings. Understanding which type of challenge applies to your situation is the first step.

Technical and validity challenges

A will must meet strict legal requirements to be valid. Section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 sets them out: the will must be in writing and signed by the person making it, or by someone else in their presence and at their direction; that signature must be intended to give effect to the will; it must be made or acknowledged in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time; and each witness must then attest and sign in the presence of the person making the will. Failure on any of these points is known as want of due execution, and it is one of the most commonly pleaded grounds because it is provable from the face of the document and the witnesses’ evidence.

One related trap catches families rather than the will itself. Under section 15 of the same Act, a gift to a person who witnessed the will, or to their spouse or civil partner, is void, although the will remains valid. The Wills Act 1968 softens this: the gift survives if the will was properly executed without counting that person’s attestation, so where there were two other valid witnesses the gift stands.

It is also worth noting that a will can cease to have effect without anyone challenging it. Marriage or civil partnership automatically revokes an earlier will under the current law, meaning there may be no valid will to challenge in the first place. There is an exception: a will made in expectation of marriage to a particular person, where the testator expressed the intention that it should not be revoked by that marriage, survives it. Note that the Law Commission’s May 2025 report “Modernising Wills Law” recommends abolishing this rule, but the government has given only an initial response, and it is now for the government to review and consider the recommendations and the accompanying draft Bill. The rule that marriage revokes a will therefore remains in force.

Lack of testamentary capacity

A will can be contested if the person who made it lacked the mental capacity to do so. The test comes from the Victorian case of Banks v Goodfellow and it has four limbs. The person making the will must have understood the nature of the act and its effects; must have understood the extent of the property they were disposing of; must have been able to comprehend and appreciate the claims of those who might expect to benefit; and no disorder of the mind must have poisoned their affections, perverted their sense of right, or prevented the exercise of their natural faculties.

That fourth limb, often left out of summaries, is where insane delusions come in. A testator who is otherwise lucid but who holds a fixed, irrational belief about a family member that shapes the will can fail the test on that ground alone.

The relevant moment is normally the time the will is signed. There is an important relaxation, though, and it works in favour of the will rather than against it. Where the testator had capacity when they gave their instructions, and at the point of signing understood only that they were executing a will drawn up in accordance with those instructions, the will can still be valid. So capacity declining between instruction and signature does not automatically create a ground of challenge; it is the situation in which the will may well stand.

It is also worth knowing that Banks v Goodfellow, and not the Mental Capacity Act 2005, remains the test where a will’s validity is challenged after death. The Law Commission has recommended moving to the 2005 Act test, but that is a proposal, not the law.

Having a solicitor draw up the will does not, by itself, prevent a capacity challenge, though a properly recorded capacity assessment makes one considerably harder.

Undue influence

A will can be contested where someone pressured or coerced the person making it into including certain provisions. Where improper influence affected the maker’s decisions, the will may not reflect their genuine wishes.

Undue influence is hard to prove, and the reason is a distinction people frequently miss. For lifetime gifts, undue influence can be presumed from a relationship of trust and confidence coupled with a transaction calling for explanation. For wills it cannot. It has to be proved, it requires coercion rather than persuasion, and the courts have long held that legitimate influence, including appeals to affection or family ties, may be fairly pressed on a testator. The allegation is treated as inherently improbable, and the burden of establishing coercion rests squarely with the person making the claim. The Law Commission’s 2025 report acknowledged that current challenges on the basis of undue influence are difficult because the burden of proof rests with the person alleging it, and evidence can be hidden. The proposed reform would allow courts to infer undue influence where there are reasonable grounds to suspect it. However, those reforms are not yet law. For now, the existing test applies, and specialist legal support is essential.

Fraud, forgery or error

This ground covers situations where the will does not reflect the true intentions of the person who made it. The will may have been forged, or its contents altered after it was signed. In other cases, the person making the will may not have known what they were signing, or did not approve the contents.

More commonly, the complaint is that the final document does not match the instructions given to the person who drafted it. A misunderstanding, miscommunication or drafting error can lead to a will that fails to state the maker’s actual wishes.

That situation has its own remedy, and its own deadline. Under section 20 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982 the court can rectify a will that fails to carry out the testator’s intentions because of a clerical error or a failure to understand their instructions. Unlike a validity challenge, rectification carries a hard time limit: six months from the date on which representation was first taken out. The court can extend it, but only with permission, so this is one to identify early rather than late.

In all such cases, a court application backed by evidence is required. This is not a step to take lightly.

Challenging the contents of a valid will

Sometimes the will is technically valid, but a person who expected to benefit receives little or nothing. In those circumstances, a different route is available.

Claims under the Inheritance Act 1975

The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 gives certain people the right to ask a court to award them reasonable financial provision from an estate, even where the will itself is valid. The Act allows certain people to apply to the court for financial provision from a deceased person’s estate where the will (or the intestacy rules) do not make reasonable financial provision for them. Such claims are commonly brought where someone has been left out of a will, or where the provision made is insufficient to meet their needs. If you are on the receiving end of one as an executor, see our guide to defending an Inheritance Act claim.

Those who can claim are:

• A spouse or civil partner.
• A former spouse or civil partner who has not remarried or formed a new civil partnership.
• A cohabitant. The test here is narrower than it is often stated: the person must have been living in the same household as the deceased, as if they were a married couple or civil partners, for the whole of the two years ending immediately before the death. Two years at some earlier point does not qualify, and living in the same house as a lodger or carer is not the same as living as a couple.
• A child of the deceased, of any age.
• A person treated as a child of the family, for example a stepchild.
• Anyone else who was being maintained, wholly or partly, by the deceased immediately before the death.

Time limits matter here, and the wording is precise: a claim must be issued within six months of the date on which representation was first taken out, which in practice means the first grant of probate or letters of administration. A later grant does not restart the clock. If a claim is issued outside that period, the claimant must apply for the court’s permission to proceed. Permission is not guaranteed, so acting promptly is essential.

Promises not honoured in the will

A further type of challenge arises where the deceased made promises during their lifetime that their will does not honour. If someone can show that the deceased led them to believe they would inherit, that they relied on that assurance, and that they suffered detriment as a result, a claim may be possible. This is a proprietary estoppel claim. The element most summaries leave out is the last one: it must be unconscionable for the promise to be gone back on, and that is the question the court starts with. The remedy is then aimed at fulfilling the promise, discounted where the claimant receives it earlier than they would have done.

Why acting quickly is essential when contesting a will

Most challenges to a will involve complicated legal questions and, in many cases, court proceedings. Exploring negotiation and mediation as alternatives to full litigation can save time and cost, but only if you act before positions become entrenched.

Taking professional advice early helps you understand whether a challenge is likely to succeed, which type of claim applies, and what evidence you need to preserve. You may also want to consider lodging a probate caveat, which prevents a grant being issued while you investigate your position. A caveat lasts six months and can be extended for further six-month periods, provided the application to extend is lodged in the last month of the current one. Letting one lapse by accident is an avoidable way to lose your position.

Speak with a contentious probate solicitor who can assess the strength of your claim, or get a free probate quote from a specialist.

Frequently asked questions

Who can contest a will in England and Wales?

Anyone with a legal interest in the outcome can challenge a will’s validity. This typically means a beneficiary under a previous will or, where there is no earlier will, someone who would inherit under intestacy rules. Separately, certain family members and dependants can bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, even if they have no right to challenge the will’s validity.

How long do I have to contest a will?

It depends on the type of challenge, and there are three different answers.

A claim for reasonable financial provision under the Inheritance Act 1975 must be issued within six months of the date representation was first taken out, extendable only with the court’s permission. An application to rectify a will under section 20 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982 carries the same six-month limit, which is easily missed because people assume rectification is part of a general validity challenge. For a challenge to a will’s validity, such as lack of capacity or undue influence, there is no fixed statutory deadline, but delay can prejudice your claim, the court can take it into account, and once the estate has been distributed the assets are often unrecoverable in practice. The Limitation Act 1980 also applies to some claims touching an estate. Always seek advice without delay.

Does contesting a will go to court?

Not necessarily. Many disputes settle through negotiation or mediation before reaching a trial. However, most challenges involve complex legal issues, and court proceedings remain a real possibility if agreement cannot be reached. Taking specialist advice early increases the chance of resolving matters without a full court hearing.

Can a will be contested if a solicitor prepared it?

Yes. Having a solicitor draft the will does not prevent a challenge on any of the recognised grounds, including lack of capacity, undue influence, or fraud. A solicitor’s involvement may make some grounds harder to prove, as good practice includes recording capacity assessments and taking instructions carefully, but it does not make a will immune from challenge.

This article is for general guidance only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Rules and thresholds can change and every estate is different. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a qualified professional. You can book a free legal consultation through The Probate Network.