Feuding families drive increase in contested wills and probate

We spend so much of our lives striving to fulfil our dreams and achieve our ambitions.

So, the fulfilment of our wishes shouldn't cease to matter when we pass away - and this sentiment is echoed by solicitors in the wills, trusts and probate teams at Slater Heelis.

John Gorner, a consultant solicitor in dispute resolution and his colleague Alex Sealy, partner and head of wills, trusts and probate at Slater Heelis, are collaborating in an industry-first approach to ensure your final wishes, whatever they may be, are fulfilled long after you've left this world behind.

The collaboration comes as the pair have noticed a significant increase in the number of disputes to wills, and the heartache and devastation this can cause between family members. The pair are striving to make the process of writing and executing the wishes within a will as fair, straight-forward and stress-free as possible.

John said: "In the past three or four years, we have noticed a real increase in the number of challenges to wills on all sorts of grounds. People make allegations when they're disappointed, when they perhaps thought they were entitled to half of a parent's estate but later learn they're only due to receive a sum of say, £10,000.

"Unfortunately, whilst people do try to respect the wishes of their late loved one, disappointment and a sense of entitlement can take over, and lead them to challenge the terms of the will. We really want to limit these disputes, as it's not pleasant for anybody, and by working together early on, at the point of a will being written to identify any possible issues we feel may arise later down the line, we're doing a lot of damage control to mitigate such issues as early and efficiently as possible.

"The problem