legal aid for contesting a will

p00hsticks

masters02 wrote: »

The general consensus on this thread seems to be that legal aid will not be available for me. Is that because it is not available for contesting wills, or because my case is not a strong one?

The former.

But also, from what you have now said, I can't see that you have any case - if your father never provided for you, then you obviously weren't financially dependent on him. And the fact that you were left something in his will shows that he had given some consideration to you. As others have pointed out, in general people are free to leave their money where they want.

newtothis999

If you got 25k why are you expecting to get legal aid. This is usually given to people who can't afford to pay solicitors fees - you can!

Errata

promised me twice in my teenage years that he would make sure I was financially "well taken care of" when he would pass away.

He could easily have promised you the sun, moon and stars as well, and you're not going to get those either.
People promise all manner of things and then change their minds.

Flat_Eric

The purse strings for legal aid have been pulled in tight in recent years so I think it is much more difficult to get now.


Both I think in terms of who qualifies and also for the areas of law legal aid is available for. Best thing is to give some local solicitors a call who offer legal aid and see what they say.

stevemLS

I don't think OP will get their £25k until any prospective challenge to the will has been dealt with.

However, their prospect of getting public funding/legal aid to mount a challenge is zero. It is simply not available for this chancery area of law.

poppasmurf_bewdley

I think £25k left to someone who was not dependent on the leaver IS being taken care of.

You haven't got a case, never mind a chance of getting legal aid.

SandraScarlett

One of my aunts was widowed, had no children, but 21 nephews and nieces. We all visited at different times, roughly monthly, and each of us was individually promised that we would be left everything in her will.


Fortunately, few of us believed this, and it didn't affect how frequently we visited her. Some did believe her, and knackered themselves doing all her jobs, which was their choice. I enjoyed going, partly because I'm very interested in genealogy, and she was a wealth of family info, and partly because I was always served her melt-in-the-mouth steak and kidney pudding, which was to die for! She was a game ol' bird, and I was always the chosen niece to complete any forms.


When she died, she left each of us an envelope. Some received a card, on which was written something like "it is better to give than to receive", or similar thoughtful remark. The cousins who did her gardening and painting were given the old tools that they used for these jobs.


I received the recipe for her steak and kidney pudding! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: Her money in the bank just about covered her funeral, and the proceeds of her house sale went to various charities.


The OP obviously doesn't realise that to many, many people, £25,000 is an absolute fortune.


xx

FBaby

on grounds that he had never provided for me and promised me twice in my teenage years that he would make sure I was financially "well taken care of" when he would pass away. He left me 25k from his net estate of over a million pounds.

Why did he never provide for you if he was well-off? Why would he want to leave you a huge part of his fortune upon death if he chose not to provide for you when you were younger?

Pollycat

SandraScarlett wrote: »

I received the recipe for her steak and kidney pudding! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: Her money in the bank just about covered her funeral, and the proceeds of her house sale went to various charities.

Your post made me laugh, Sandra.

I think the OP has had pretty much the best advice they're going to get but.......

would you mind sharing your inherited steak & kidney pudding recipe, please?

oldhand

Errata wrote: »

He could easily have promised you the sun, moon and stars as well, and you're not going to get those either.
People promise all manner of things and then change their minds.

Correct,my wife promised me many times she would make me a happy man over the years but shes still with me..........:(:(:(