Contested legacies

At Russell-Cooke, we understand the crucial role that charitable legacies play in providing essential funding. Our team of specialists is dedicated to ensuring that your charity's interests are protected and upheld in contested legacy cases. We aim to provide an unrivalled approachability for legacy officers and fundraisers, and maintain an ad-hoc query line for your legacy teams should the same be required.

We regularly deal with situations where a charity is a beneficiary of a will but the disappointed relatives take the view that the charity has received a "windfall" and should surrender part or all of its interest.

Our dedicated team handles a comprehensive range of claims involving charity beneficiaries. We ensure that every aspect of your case is managed with the utmost care and professionalism, with a keen eye to the commerciality of dealing with a dispute and to managing  potential reputational risk:

• Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claims: We defend claims made against the charity under this Act to secure your charity's entitlements, addressing the financial needs of family members and dependants while upholding the testator's wishes.
• Will validity challenges: Our team addresses issues related to testamentary capacity, lack of knowledge and approval, undue influence, or forgery. We ensure that wills are executed correctly and represent the true intentions of the deceased.
• Proprietary estoppel claims: We defend claims where the deceased made promises that led to reliance by the claimant. These cases often involve significant emotional and financial considerations, which we handle with sensitivity and expertise.
• Will rectification: Correcting clerical errors or misunderstandings in the drafting of wills to ensure that the testator's true intentions are delivered. This often involves detailed legal analysis.
• Construction claims: Interpreting ambiguous or complex clauses in wills to resolve disputes over the distribution of the estate. Our expertise ensures that the will is understood and executed as intended.
• Removal of executors/trustees: Applications to remove those who are not fulfilling their legal obligations, protecting the estate and ensuring proper management. This can involve proving misconduct or incapacity.
• Inventory and accounts applications: Ensuring executors provide clear and accurate accounting of the estate, safeguarding the interests of all beneficiaries and maintaining transparency.
• Professional negligence claims: Addressing negligence by firms involved in the creation or management of wills and trusts, ensuring that any losses due to professional errors are recovered.

Why charities face increasing legacy disputes

The landscape of wills and estates is becoming increasingly complex due to various factors:

• Rising property values: Higher property values increase the financial stakes, making disputes more likely and more contentious.
• Complex family arrangements: Modern family structures, including blended families and estranged relatives, lead to more contested wills.
• Longevity and health issues: More people living longer with illnesses such as Alzheimer's and dementia, leading to questions about testamentary capacity.
• Economic downturn: Financial difficulties contribute to a rise in claims under the Inheritance Act as dependants seek support.
• COVID-19 crisis: The pandemic has led to an increase in hastily made wills and subsequent challenges to their validity.
• Globalisation: Pledgers move and manage their lives across different countries and jurisdictions and we are seeing an increasing number of estates that would previously have been considered modest in nature, include cross-border complexities. 

Balancing reputation and legal rights

Charities must navigate the delicate balance between upholding the wishes of testators and maintaining public trust. Our team is experienced in resolving charity legacy disputes effectively and sensitively, ensuring that reputations remain intact while securing your entitlements. The firm has a dedicated risk management team who support our contested legacies team as well as the wider firm to include the charities team with any issues that might arise. 

We offer comprehensive legal support to protect charitable legacies, including:

• Defending inheritance act claims: Protecting against claims that could reduce or eliminate your legacy.
• Challenging will validity: Addressing issues that may invalidate a will, ensuring your charity receives its intended bequest.
• Interpreting and constructing wills: Clarifying ambiguous clauses and ensuring the will is executed as intended.
• Defending proprietary estoppel claims: Protecting your charity against claims based on promises made by the deceased.
• Claims against executors/trustees: Holding executors and trustees accountable for proper estate management and ensuring transparency.
• Statutory Wills: Defending the position of a charity beneficiary in the context of a claim to the Court of Protection for a statutory will.
  

Our contested legacies experts, as well as our wider trust and estates dispute team, routinely act for charities and private clients. Many of our solicitors in the team and wider firm have hands-on experience working for charities as legacy officers, enabling an understanding of the unique challenges faced by those in the sector.

We draw upon our wide-ranging expertise to help you navigate complex legal disputes effectively, maintaining the integrity of your legacy funding.

With experience across all aspects of charity law, including governance, regulatory matters involving the Charity Commission, commercial arrangements, setting up charities fundraising and collaborations, as well as estate and succession planning, wills, probate, trusts, tax-planning, lasting powers of attorney, enduring powers of attorney and Court of Protection matters, our team has the knowledge and track-record to provide an unmatched legacy offering to clients.

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