Estates Litigation & Claims

Sometimes, estate administration does not go smoothly. This can be caused by any one of several factors, such as:

• The will was poorly drafted.
• The will-maker did not consider all parties with a moral and legal claim on the estate, such as a de facto partner, other family members, or anyone else they had promised to include in the will.
• Beneficiaries may think they have been treated unfairly.
• Third parties, such as business creditors, may claim on the estate assets.

These issues can often be dealt with by an experienced executor, but at times, the risk of litigation is unavoidable.

If you are the executor or administrator of an estate and have to defend the will in the High Court, you must engage a lawyer with experience in estate litigation. Likewise, if you are a beneficiary of the estate or a third party, feel unfairly treated, and you don’t believe the executor or administrator has taken appropriate consideration of your claims, seek expert help.

Our Estate Administration team has many years of experience litigating on behalf of executors, estates, beneficiaries and other claimants. We offer a free initial consultation to listen to your concerns and form a preliminiary view on the legal issues you face. At that initial consultation, we also explain to you the basis on which we would charge for our legal services, should you decide to instruct us to proceed to act for you. From there, we would provide advice on where you stand, what your options are, and how you can engage with the other parties to resolve the issues or, if necessary, initiate litigation.