Whatever the type of will dispute, our guide explores what you need to consider and what is possible if you are thinking of contesting a will whether this is in relation to the way that the will has been made or the way the will is being executed.

On 1 April 2013, significant changes to the rules governing civil litigation were introduced. These changes are known as the Jackson reforms and their purpose is to make the costs of civil litigation more proportionate to the issues in dispute.

Whether and/or when building works have achieved practical completion is a common question which arises during the course of a project and one which often results in a dispute.

The phrase “estoppel by convention” is not a phrase one hears very often in everyday conversation. Its legal implications can however make a big difference to the outcome of a claim, where relevant, when a dispute arises.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (the “Ombudsman”) is the independent dispute resolution service for financial services businesses and their customers. This includes private individual customers but also small businesses.

It is very rare for any dispute that finds its way to court to be resolved to the satisfaction of both parties; inevitably one party will feel aggrieved that their argument failed to find merit with the judge, even if they were not, strictly speaking, at fault. This was the case with a dispute over an updated will made by an elderly man, Jack Leonard, in which he extended his list of beneficiaries to include his stepchildren as well as his biological children.

The ownership of a farm was at the centre of a dispute between three (of four) siblings after the death of their parents, Mr & Mrs Williams. The reasons for the dispute were depressingly familiar – the partnership agreement was at odds with their father’s will, with one brother claiming that assets gifted under the will were actually partnership assets and thus rightfully his. He also employed a backstop argument, that of proprietary estoppel, on the rather flimsy premise that his father had promised him the farm some forty odd years ago.

It is unfortunately not possible to prevent someone from contesting a will. However, both at the will preparation stage and in the early stages of being faced with the prospect of a dispute after death, there are various steps that can be taken to protect against it.

With no clear path yet determined for our exit from the European Union, many commercial tenants could have been forgiven for watching the dispute between the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and its landlord, Canary Wharf, with their fingers crossed.

In a recent dispute between European Professional Club Rugby, the governing body and organiser of two European premier club rugby union competitions, and sports media broadcaster, RDA Television LLP, the High Court allowed for the lawful termination of a contract due to COVID-19 on the grounds of force majeure.