Will Disputes Explained: When Can You Challenge a Will?

A will can only be challenged on recognised legal grounds: lack of testamentary capacity, want of knowledge and approval, undue influence, fraud or forgery, and failure to comply with the formalities of the Wills Act 1837.

Each ground carries a different evidential burden. Capacity claims usually turn on contemporaneous medical records and the solicitor's attendance notes; undue influence, by contrast, must be proved rather than inferred, which makes early preservation of documents critical.

Timing matters. A caveat can be entered before a grant issues, but Inheritance Act claims must generally be brought within six months of the grant. Waiting to 'see how things settle' is the most common reason a viable claim is lost.