No one likes to think about their death and what they’d want to happen to their assets. Sadly, dying without a properly drawn will can cause a great deal of wasted time, unnecessary expense and heartache, as well as hassle from disputes that could easily be avoided.
Our service takes you through all the relevant things you need to think about as well as drawing up a will that really reflects your wishes. We can help whether you need a single will for a modest estate, or if your affairs are more complex with both personal and business assets to consider.
If you don’t make a Will, the law will divide your estate according to what’s known as the rules of intestacy. These rules are very fixed and may not reflect what you’d like to happen to your wealth, or what’s most tax efficient.
Our Will services are easy to use and can be tailored to your needs. We can help you decide what type of service would suit you best.
An up-to-date Will is essential for making sure your wishes reflect your current situation and includes everyone you wish.
It’s good practice to recheck your Will every five years, especially to make sure it considers any changes in tax regulations that might affect you.
At the same time as thinking about your Will, it makes sense to also consider making a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). These are useful if you’re worried about losing the ability to manage your own affairs in the future. We can discuss the options with you and help you appoint the right person to make decisions on your behalf if you lose mental capacity.
If you’ve been left out of a Will, haven’t been left as much as you expected, or think the Will is wrong in some way, you might be able to contest it.
At Hassan Luk, our experienced team of lawyers is here to guide you through every step, ensuring your rights and interests are protected. Whether you believe a will is invalid or you're seeking fair provision under the Law of Succession Act, we have the expertise to help.
Grounds for contesting a Will
If you are facing a dispute or disagreement over someone’s assets after they have passed away, our contentious probate lawyers are here to help. These matters can be difficult, but with our experienced team, you can get through these challenges with confidence and clarity.
We will advise you whether the claim is likely to succeed and help you to formulate a strategy that protects you and that you are comfortable with in a dispute that may involve close family members.
We can also help you contest probate if there is no Will and you want to challenge how the estate has been divided up. A person’s legacy is a significant thing and it’s important to know that it’s being handled in a way that’s fair to those inheriting and doesn’t damage its value.
We're a leading law firm with considerable expertise in the area of wills and estates. We’ve helped thousands of clients prepare for the future with strategic estate planning. We’re adept at dealing with complex estates and also handling international probate issues for clients who have assets in different countries. We also have the benefit of acting as executor for many of our clients, which allows us to bring our detailed knowledge of the probate process into our will writing services.
We pride ourselves on providing clear advice in plain English, free from jargon, and our team is always on hand to discuss any questions you have.
We know that life can sometimes be more complex, involving scenarios that are unique to you and your family. This means your Will may need to reflect this, with a more tailored and bespoke solution to give you and your loved ones the confidence and security you need.
We’ll be able to give you an indication of the likely cost after an initial chat and, once we know more, we’ll confirm fees in writing before we proceed. We’ll also highlight other services that may be of interest to you such as advice on estate planning, powers of attorney, trusts and tax.
As part of our online and postal Will Service, we also offer our Wills Assured Service where you appoint Hassan Luk as your Executor.
A Sharia-compliant Islamic Will (Wasiyyah) can be suitable for Muslims who’d like their assets to pass in accordance with the principles of Sharia law. Our lawyers are experts in Sharia law compliance and can help you provide for your family in a way that follows your faith.
Your Will belongs to you, and we’ll happily store it for you and provide you with a copy when you need one. If at any stage you’d like your original Will returned to you, just let us know and we’ll tell you what we need to send it to you. When you die, your executors will need the original Will. We can explain the terms of the Will to them and help them deal with the probate process.
No matter how complicated the transaction, our focus is on ensuring everything runs smoothly and is handled in a timely, stress-free and communicative manner.
As obvious as it seems, a thorough search should be carried out of the deceased’s residence. It is worth checking the property, including any places where the deceased may have kept all of their paperwork, or perhaps in an attic or other storage room.
If the Will cannot be found in the deceased’s property, and you are aware the deceased used a particular lawyer during their lifetime, it may be that the lawyer is storing the original Will or a copy of the Will for the deceased and so it is worth making enquiries with them. If the firm of lawyers is no longer practising, the Law Society of Kenya may able to assist in ascertaining where the Will is being stored.
Less frequently, banks store Wills for their customers and so it is also worth making enquiries with the deceased’s banks.
Finally, you can ask a company to carry out a Will search for a fee. This can identify where the Will is being held and by whom. However it is not compulsory to register a Will and so a Will may be in existence but not return any hits on a Will search.
If you know a Will exists but cannot be located, it may be possible to apply to the Probate Registry so that evidence of the Will’s contents can be accepted in place of the original missing Will. A copy of a signed Will can also be used for an application, though you will need to explain why a copy is being submitted in place of an original.
Anyone can challenge a Will on the basis they do not consider that it is a valid Will If they stand to benefit from the terms of an earlier Will or an intestacy if the last Will is set aside.
There are, however, only specific categories of people/close family who can bring a claim where they do not feel as though they have been left reasonable financial provision by the deceased. We can advise you accordingly.
It is always crucial to take certain steps as promptly as possible, including in some circumstances lodging a caveat at the Probate Registry to prevent a Grant of Probate from being obtained.
There can be limited time constraints within which you must bring an action, or else there may be an ultimate defence to your claim.
The steps that follow will depend on a wide variety of factors, but it is expected that the parties will make some attempt at settlement discussions before Court proceedings are issued as a last resort.
You can still seek to challenge a Will, or bring a claim provided you are within time limits, after a Grant of Probate has been obtained. It is difficult to achieve practically and particularly where assets of the estate may have been distributed. It is therefore important that as soon as you become aware of a potential challenge to a Will or claim that you take the appropriate next steps without delay.
The time limit for contesting a Will ultimately depends on what type of claim you are seeking to bring, but it can be as little as 6 months from the date of the Grant of Probate.
This is something that will be decided on by a Court if the matter goes to a trial. Usually, the losing party would pay the winning party’s costs, but that is not always necessarily the case. There can be certain instances where the winner can pay the loser’s costs, or alternatively the costs can come out of the estate.
If a settlement can be reached before a trial, the parties can decide between them as to how the costs will be paid as part of any settlement.
There are various ways you can cover the cost of your claim, depending on your case. These include legal expenses insurance, 'No Win, No Fee' agreement, payment on conclusion, and private monthly billing.
We understand that funds and assets may be tied up in the disputed estate, and we’ll be as flexible as possible to ensure that’s not another worry on your mind. We’ll discuss the different payment options with you at the start.
Most Will disputes are settled without the need to either go to Court or for there to be a trial. The majority of Will disputes are suitable for mediation, or some other form of alternative dispute resolution where the parties’ focus is on trying to settle the matter.
If you have a legitimate concern as to the preparation of one or more of the Deceased’s Wills, you can enter a caveat in the estate at the Probate Registry. This prevents a Grant of Probate from being obtained. The caveat can be ‘warned off’, in which case you can either allow the Grant of Probate to proceed or enter an appearance. As soon as you enter an appearance, the caveat becomes permanent and it will remain in force until the matter is resolved.
If the deceased died without leaving a valid Will their estate would be administered under the Intestacy Rules. These rules dictate who inherits the estate and in what shares. In general terms, those entitled to inherit are surviving spouses and children. If there is no surviving spouse or children then parents, siblings and more distant blood relatives would inherit.
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