Where there’s a will, a quarrel’s on the way, says Michael Tringham
Will disputes have become the 21st century’s breach-ofpromise— creating work for lawyers and copy for journalists. One London fi rm has 10 partners dedicated to such tasks; provincial solicitors say their caseloads have tripled in the last decade.
Cases often bring grimy linen into the open. An Oxfordshire man’s will left his estate to the adult children from his marriage—but failed to mention the secret daughter from an adulterous affair for whom he had been paying maintenance. The court made an award to the half-sister; legal costs swallowed most of the money. Although bigger legacies are one factor—in 2007–2008 over 30,000 estates were worth more than £300,000—it’s not only the amount at stake that tempts litigants. Fragmented family structures— multiple marriages and cohabitations— mean that children from a fi rst marriage or long fi nished relationship can feel left out.
A central London head of trust and fi duciary disputes says: “Legal battles can be waged over anything from a few hundred pounds to hundreds of millions. People feel it is
