Will Disputes at 10-Year High: What You Need to Know

Recent data shows over 10,000 will disputes filed annually in England and Wales. Key drivers include blended families, property value increases, and challenges to testator capacity.

Blended families remain the single largest source of contested estates: second marriages, step-children and informal promises combine to produce competing expectations.

Protecting an estate is largely a documentary exercise. Record reasons, use an independent solicitor for late-life changes, and obtain a capacity assessment where illness could later be questioned.