It can be heart-breaking to be left out of a Will. If you believe you were left out unfairly, you may be able to challenge the terms of that Will.

Every person making a Will has moral duties to properly provide for their spouse, partner, child or grandchild. If they fail to do so, the Court has powers under the Family Protection Act 1955 to make further provision for those persons out of the estate.

In other cases, a person may have made a promise that you will receive certain assets under their Will, but failed to actually fulfil that promise in their Will. Where the promise was made as a reward for services provided to the deceased while they were alive, you may be able to enforce that promise through the Law Reform (Testamentary Promises) Act 1949.

If there is evidence to suggest that the Will maker did not have the required mental capacity at the time they made their Will, whether due to dementia or some other illness, this may also provide grounds to challenge the Will.

It is important to understand what your specific grounds may be for challenging a Will. It is also worth understanding the value of the estate so you can decide if it is worth bringing a claim. The estate team at Fortune Manning is experienced at challenging Wills and can assist you with this. We also act for estates dealing with claims against them and for the beneficiaries of estates whose entitlements might be challenged.