Increasing Number of Disputes Over Inheritances

Recent figures indicate that the number of disputed inheritances is rising.  The number of court battels over wills has doubled over the past four years.  Lawyers attribute the rise in disputes to the recession. More people are relying on inheritance to help with their financial problems.  

At the same time, the value of the average estate has increased over the past decade. In 2002, the average estate was worth £152,358, but is now worth £265,281. This means that the average cost of processing an estate is rising too. 

Solicitors add that the figures for the rising court cases don’t even reflect the full picture since the majority of disputes are settled out of court.  

See Teresa Hunter, Battle of Wills: The Legal Bills that Swallow Entire Estates, The Telegraph, Feb. 4, 2013.