legal aid for contesting a will

mro

masters02 wrote: »

Thanks for all the responses, much appreciated.

I am in England, and I am considering contesting my father's will under the inheritance act, 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.

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?

But there is a will, that's what your father decided for whatever reasons.

Where did the rest of the money go ?

What sort of relationship did you have with your father, were you still in contact or regular contact ?

If you think you were getting more money, there must be reasons you didn't, that you don't know or aren't telling.

I wouldn't say £25k out of a million pounds over a lifetime is well taken care of, but in normal life it's still a good chunk of money to do things with.

SandraScarlett

Pollycat wrote: »

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?

I'd have to shoot you first! But I'll give you one addition. There are several ingredients that I have never seen in any other S & K Pudding recipe, and one of these is ....... brown sugar!


Most of these cousins have joined Aunt Jess now, but I do remember cousin Arthur. He used to clean the windows, inside and out, every time he visited, and she had a big old Victorian house, with several floors, an attic and an "airey".


On one visit there was a gale blowing, and he couldn't complete all his tasks outside. I visited a few days later, and my aunt never stopped criticising him for failing her, adding "there was a bit of a breeze, but I'd already made him a cup of tea, filled to the brim, so he could have carried on".


I think Arthur was probably left a bucket in the will!


xx

SandraScarlett

I did have one thought, this threads seems a bit Andy-esque. Has anyone spotted him lately?


xx

WestonDave

To all intents and purposes legal aid no longer exists - there are a few very limited circumstances where it applies such as where children require representations in custody matters, some immigration and some mental health matters. General litigation (which this would fall into would be expected to either be funded on a "no win no fee" basis or funded by the claimant. To be fair if a solicitor thinks you have a decent case they will often offer either no win no fee or pay at the end type deals - if they are unwilling to offer those its a fair indication that they think your case is poor and its therefore not worth risking your money either!

sniggings

WestonDave wrote: »

To all intents and purposes legal aid no longer exists - there are a few very limited circumstances where it applies such as where children require representations in custody matters, some immigration and some mental health matters. General litigation (which this would fall into would be expected to either be funded on a "no win no fee" basis or funded by the claimant. To be fair if a solicitor thinks you have a decent case they will often offer either no win no fee or pay at the end type deals - if they are unwilling to offer those its a fair indication that they think your case is poor and its therefore not worth risking your money either!

so a skint person accused of murder wouldn't get legal aid then?...unless he was under 16, an immigrant and not too smart. :rotfl:

poppasmurf_bewdley

Legal aid still exists for criminal law, but not for non criminal activities such as divorce and what the OP is contemplating.

Pollycat

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

Legal aid still exists for criminal law, but not for non criminal activities such as divorce and what the OP is contemplating.

Yes, and I thought that was clear from DaveWeston's use of the word 'litigation' in his post.

masters02

Thank you for all the responses!

AngelOfTheNorth

OP won't get legal aid for contesting a will in England and Wales, however strong the case. There's also a time limit for challenging it, six months from the grant of probate.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/relationships_w/relationships_death_and_wills_e/wills.htm#h_challenging_a_will

Time is marching on.

SnooksNJ

WestonDave wrote: »

To all intents and purposes legal aid no longer exists - there are a few very limited circumstances where it applies such as where children require representations in custody matters, some immigration and some mental health matters. General litigation (which this would fall into would be expected to either be funded on a "no win no fee" basis or funded by the claimant. To be fair if a solicitor thinks you have a decent case they will often offer either no win no fee or pay at the end type deals - if they are unwilling to offer those its a fair indication that they think your case is poor and its therefore not worth risking your money either!

A fellow American has been on several message boards, newspapers, and facebook complaining about how he can't get legal aid for his refused visa.
He sold everything and quit his job to move to the UK. He was allowed to enter on a tourist visa, married, and was refused some 10 year discretionary visa. I have no idea why he was refused. :shocked:
So I'm guessing it's serious immigration issue's and not this kind of nonsense.