NZ DISPUTED WILLS & CONTESTED PROBATE SOLICITORS

Due to increasing levels of prosperity challenging wills and probate has become a specialist legal subject over the last decades with New Zealand solicitors dealing with contested wills and disputed probate on a regular basis. Most people will leave property at the time of their death however not everyone will be able to determine exactly who receives those assets. This may be due to a number of factors not least of which is that many people fail to make a will which means that assets are distributed after death according to statutory provisions which may mean that unintended beneficiaries receive a substantial legacy that they were not expecting. The next most common cause of estates being distributed in a way that is not consistent with the intentions of the person making the will relates to wills that are poorly drafted or badly executed that may be invalid in whole or in part. Thereafter inadequate drafting may ensure that some assets are not distributed and finally some testators fail to appreciate that their estate may have responsibilities to dependents for whom they may have made inadequate provision.

Wills Act 2007

The Wills Act 2007 has now replaced The Wills 1837 which was considered to be outdated and inaccessible due to archaic language in inaccessible to members of the public due to the fact that it had to be read in conjunction with several other Acts. This new NZ legislation has reduced the possibility of undermining the intentions of the person making the will due to it being poorly grafted or badly executed. Probably the most important and innovative provision of The Wills Act 2007 is to enable the High Court to validate wills that fall foul of some of the formalities that would otherwise make the will invalid.

Challenging Wills & Probate

There are numerous grounds upon which an aggrieved potential beneficiary can contest a will or dispute probate. In most cases if a will is found to be invalid then an earlier valid will may take precedence. Beneficiaries of earlier wills may there find it is in their interest to contest a later will or dispute probate if the later document cuts them out. A challenge to a will can be mounted in any of the following circumstances :-

• Dependents
  Under the Family Protection Act 1955 an application can be made to the high court to contest a will on the basis that it did not make adequate provision for dependents that are categorised under the legislation as spouses, civil partners and in certain circumstances de facto partners.
• Promises
  It is possible to bring a claim under the Law Reform (Testamentary Promises) Act 1949 if you have provided a service to a deceased in return for a promise to be a beneficiary under that person’s will that has not been fulfilled. The promise must have been made prior to the work having been carried out.
• Spouses
  The legal spouse or civil partner or de facto partner of a deceased person may chose to either divide property acquired jointly during the course of the relationship or accept what has been left to them as beneficiary under a will.
• Validity
  There are a number of ways whereby a will can be challenged in NZ relating to either or both the person making the will and the document :-
  • The will maker was not of sound mind and did not fuly understand the consequences of their actions.
  • the will was not properly executed by way of signature or witness requirements.
  • The person making the will was mistaken about the type of document that was signed and would not have approved of the content.
  • There was an element of duress or undue influence when the will was executed.

Specialist NZ Lawyers - Free Legal Advice

Our specialist solicitors who challenge disputed wills and deal with contested probate have a client centred approach and will leave no stone unturned in their quest for justice. If you believe that you have been inadequately provided for or have been unjustly cut out of a will, you should contact us for free legal advice. We will advise you of the merits of any challenge you wish to instigate and will take immediate legal action to ensure that property in dispute cannot be distributed until your claim is established or the dispute is heard in a court of law.