There are a number of grounds for challenging the validity of a Will including lack of proper formalities (witnessing), lack of testamentary capacity, lack of knowledge and approval or undue influence / fraud.

If you believe that a Will is not valid, we can investigate whether there are grounds to challenge it by making what is known as a Larke v Nugus request.

What is a Larke v Nugus Request?

The name of the request comes from a court case in which a beneficiary of a Will and the executor were in dispute due to the executor’s failure to provide information about the circumstances surrounding the making of the Will.  In circumstances such as these, when a professionally drafted Will is in dispute, it is usually helpful to obtain some information about the circumstances surrounding its preparation and execution.

A request can be made to the Will drafting solicitor or a professional Will drafter for a statement setting out the deceased’s instructions and the circumstances of the execution of the Will.  We can also ask for a copy of the Will file which should contain documents referred to in the statement.

What is covered in the Larke v Nugus request?

As well as a request for a copy of the Will file and the statement from the Will drafter, Larke v Nugus requests can include a number of questions to ascertain how the Will came to be made and whether anyone other than the deceased was involved in the process.

Can anyone make a Larke v Nugus request?

If you are not included in an earlier Will (or you do not benefit under the intestacy rules where there is no earlier Will), you are unlikely to have grounds to obtain the Larke v Nugus statement or the Will file.

If you do have grounds to obtain make a Larke v Nugus request, the Will drafter or solicitor may need to obtain permission from the deceased’s executors to provide the information being requested. 

What else do I need to know?

We are leading contentious probate team based in the North West, assisting clients across the UK and overseas in respect of will disputes, inheritance claims and trust litigation.

Brabners LLP offer a fixed fee service for assessing the merits of contesting a Will.  For a fixed fee of £1,000 plus VAT, we will complete an assessment and advise on whether there are grounds to challenge the Will based on the file of papers, or whether any further investigation is needed.

We will speak to you to gather background information and make the request for the Will file.  We will review the documents relating to the circumstances in which the Will was made and, if necessary, we will speak to the witnesses to the Will.

We will provide a report to you setting out our view on the Will file and any grounds of dispute.  Based on this report you can decide on your next steps, if any, such as obtaining medical evidence or documents from other sources which are not included in the standard Larke v Nugus request.

Please note that in some cases, the Will drafter or solicitor or the executor may refuse to provide disclosure of the Will file, so it may be necessary to make an application to court, the costs of which are not included in our fixed fee.

In addition, please note that will drafters and solicitors are entitled to charge a reasonable fee for their time in responding to the Larke v Nugus request which is in addition to the fees charged by Brabners. We will notify you if we are advised that a fee will be charged by the will drafter (and the amount sought) to check if you still wish to proceed.

Brabners in Lancashire is located at Sceptre Court, Walton Summit. If you would like to discuss anything raised in this article, please give us a ring on 01772 823921, quote “Lancashare” and a member of our team will be happy to assist you. 

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