Sophie understands how difficult it can be to challenge a will, recognising that emotions can run high between everyone involved when sorting out probate. Given that careful listening and empathy are as important as legal expertise in such sensitive situations, Sophie is the go-to legal expert for your disputed wills, trusts, and probate queries when – as can often be the case – family members have been left out of a will.
Challenging a will
Sophie works with beneficiaries and people who believe they ought to benefit from an estate after someone has passed away. Challenging a will and how assets are to be divided up can uncover many additional questions. She supports clients who want to make a legal claim or retain inheritance. In particular, people want to know what happens if children from a first marriage are disinherited.
Clients benefit from Sophie’s years of experience with the complicated probate process involving multiple generations and high value assets. Sophie brings claims to court, defends clients and also advocates mediation.
Every situation is different and if any of these questions sound familiar please contact Sophie:
- What do you do if you feel something is ‘not quite right’ with a will and you are not set to inherit anything at all from the family estate?
- Where do you start if you want to challenge details in a will?
- What legal support do you need if you are disagreeing with a family member over probate?
- What do you do if you believe a will is a fake or not valid (for example, everything has been left to an occasional carer or charity)?
- Who do you turn to if you believe someone has been pressured into changing a will?
Sophie can represent your interests and navigate any probate dispute with sensitivity, confidence and empathy, explaining legal jargon in straightforward terms you can understand. Sophie is experienced in achieving a positive outcome in complex and stressful situations, including when there is no will in place or with executors caught in the middle of a challenging probate situation.
What if you have been left out of a will?
Sophie helps a broad range of clients including:
- family members or close friends who discover they have been completely left out of the will
- adopted children and their inheritance rights
- executors and beneficiaries in the middle of a family feud where children or close family members have been disinherited (for example, a father has left everything to one daughter)
- step-children or estranged family members who may be entitled to inherit, but the situation is complicated due to a remarriage or a subsequent partner in an unmarried relationship.
With 10 years’ experience as a Court Advocate and 17 years’ involvement in Civil Litigation, Sophie presents clients in court, and navigates and settles mediations. To add to this, Sophie works closely with colleagues who are family, wills, probate and conveyancing experts. Also, she has been invited to attend prestigious events held by the Law Society, and runs roundtable discussions with external experts; as a result she is highly recommended and regularly referred by others.
Sophie’s probate successes
- Arguing the correct interpretation of a will which resulted in the client receiving her rightful 50% share of the family property worth over £1 million.
- A successful settlement of approximately £300,000 from successfully challenging the validity of a will.
- Obtaining an order for a property sale after one of the two beneficiaries refused to sell with full costs awarded.
Positive comments from clients include, “absolutely fantastic”, “kept me informed and up to date”, “very good, extremely helpful and quick to send out the necessary correspondence”, clear with legal matters, helpful and above all understanding”.
