Being an executor when someone contests the will

The two very different kinds of challenge

A validity challenge says the will itself is not good: the person lacked mental capacity when they made it, they didn't know and approve its contents, they were unduly influenced, it wasn't signed and witnessed properly, or it's a forgery. If it succeeds, an earlier will or the intestacy rules apply instead.

A provision claim accepts the will is valid but says it doesn't make reasonable financial provision for someone. These are brought under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 by spouses, former spouses, children, cohabitees of at least two years, and anyone who was being maintained by the deceased.

The two have different deadlines and different consequences, so establish early which one you're facing.

The deadlines that matter

A 1975 Act claim must normally be issued within six months of the grant. The court can extend that, but you should not rely on it.

Because of that six-month window, the convention is not to distribute the estate until at least six months and ten days after the grant. If you distribute earlier and a claim succeeds, you can be personally liable for the money you've already paid out.

A validity challenge has no equivalent fixed limit, but delay counts against the person bringing it, and a claim to remove a beneficiary who has already spent their inheritance gets harder with time.

Caveats: what actually stops

Someone who wants to prevent a grant being issued can enter a caveat at the probate registry. It costs a small fee, lasts six months and is renewable. While it stands, no grant is issued.

What that stops: selling property, closing larger accounts, distributing anything.

What it does not stop: registering the death, the funeral, securing and insuring the property, paying inheritance tax, or protecting the estate's value. You can and should keep doing all of those.

An executor faced with a caveat can issue a 'warning', which forces the person to state their interest or let the caveat lapse.

Staying neutral, and staying protected

The executor's duty is to the estate as a whole, not to the beneficiaries who agree with you. Practical rules:

• Communicate with all sides in writing, and share the same information with everyone
• Don't fund one side's legal costs from the estate
• Keep meticulous records and estate accounts, you'll be asked for them
• Preserve the evidence: the original will, the drafting solicitor's file, and the deceased's medical records may all be needed
• Keep the estate's assets safe and insured while the dispute runs, that is your job even when everything else has stalled
• Consider stepping back to a neutral position and asking the court for directions if the dispute is entrenched

Costs, and when it settles

Most disputes settle. Mediation is expected by the courts before a contested hearing, and it is far cheaper: a mediation typically costs a few thousand pounds against tens of thousands for a trial.

Don't assume the estate pays everyone's costs. The general rule is that the loser pays, with limited exceptions where the deceased's own conduct caused the doubt. An executor who behaves neutrally and reasonably can normally recover their proper costs from the estate.