Excluding someone from a will

TBagpuss

Geek1973 said:

What I am trying to ask is, if the will explicitly states that Child #3 is to receive nothing then there shouldn’t be any valid grounds for them to then successfully contest the will afterwards?

Short answer , no. There's no 100% guarantee that someone wont be able to challenge or that the challenge won't be successful. 

However, there are different grounds for challenging a will.


The VALIDITY of a will can be challenged if there is evidence that the person making it lacked mental capacity, e.g. that they were suffering from dementia or other health issues such that they did not fully understand the meaning or effect of the will. 
If there is any question about the testator's mental capacity and understanding when they made the will - - if the child being left out is nor mentioned at all, then they might claim that their parent's mental health had been deteriorating and they were left out by mistake, because the testator had forgotten them or failed to notice they were missing. So in that specific situation, including them in the will for a token amount, or stating that they are not given anything because they have already received their inheritance in advance by way of prior gifts (or whatever is the case) makes it much harder to argue they were overlooked or forgotten 

A will might also be challenged if there was a claim that they had made it under duress or undue influence - e.g. if the child who was left out claimed that the other children had pressured the testator. Leaving a token amount to the other sibling wouldn't prevent a challenge on that basis.

Another possibility would be the child making a claim under the Inheritance Act that the parent had failed to make reasonable provision for them .This is harder for an adult child than for someone who was dependent on the deceased immediately before their death, or for a widow/widower or someone claiming on behalf of a minor child, but it is a possibility. 

However, the best way for ward is for them to make a will using a proper solicitor, they will be able t speak to the solicitor about why they wish to exclude the child, and it would be normal for them to prepare a 'side letter' setting out their reasons.
That way, the will itself is straightforward, but if the person who was left out seek to challenge it, the side letter (And any records kept by the solicitor) can be provided to show both that they did make the choice for themself and will full understanding and that the decision was reasonable.

They can ask for a copy of the solicitors file or request that it is keep for longer than might be standard, to ensure that the records are available in the vent of any challenge. 

Boat_to_Bolivia

Just out of interest, why do they want to exclude the 3rd sibling from the will?

Malthusian

BooJewels said:

The benefit of that approach is that if the estate goes to Probate and the Will is then published and becomes a public record, it's a bit kinder that the exclusion isn't laid bare for anyone interested to see.

Future genealogical researchers will make a :-( face though.