Challenging A Will
My mother’s Will does not appear to reflect her wishes and favours someone who had influence over her. Is there anything I can do?
Where an individual’s decision making has been undermined by the influence of someone else, undue influence may have been exerted. Simply speaking, undue influence is when a more dominant individual persuades a weaker individual to do something they would not have done otherwise i.e. they have coerced them into doing something.
Undue influence can be distinguished from a lack of capacity, as where undue influence exists the person making the Will retains the mental capacity to make their own decision but another person influences or coerces them into making different provisions in the Will.
If undue influence has been exerted in getting someone to make certain provisions in their Will (often favouring the person exerting the undue influence) it might be possible to challenge the validity of the Will itself, or the provisions in relation to the person exerting the undue influence
If you would like advice in relation to challenging a Will please contact us.