Losing someone you love is one of life’s most disorienting experiences. The weeks that follow a bereavement are rarely peaceful, but for a growing number of UK families, they are becoming something else entirely: the opening chapter of a legal dispute that can drag on for months or even years.
Probate conflicts, cases in which family members, partners, or other interested parties challenge the validity of a will or the distribution of an estate, are rising sharply. According to data obtained through a Freedom of Information request to HM Courts and Tribunals Service, there were 11,362 applications to block probate in 2024, compared to 7,268 in 2019. That is a 56% increase in five years. Compared to 2014, the earliest year in the data, the figure has grown by 79%.
This is not a legal curiosity. It is a pattern with real emotional consequences for real families, and understanding why it is happening matters for anyone who wants to protect their loved ones from unnecessary conflict.
Why Disputes Happen More Often Than People Expect
Will disputes rarely come out of nowhere. They tend to emerge at the intersection of complex family dynamics, financial pressure, and life circumstances that have changed faster than legal documents can keep up with.
One significant driver is the UK’s ageing population. The ONS projects that by 2041, more than a quarter of the population will be aged 65 or over. Alongside longer lives comes a growing prevalence of dementia and cognitive decline. The NHS records more than 500,000 patients with a diagnosed condition, a 9% rise in just two years. When a will has been made late in life, questions about whether the person was truly of sound mind at the time of signing can become the basis for a legal challenge.
Dan Brown, Divisional Director at LawSure Insurance, explained: “The rise in capacity-related disputes is something we are seeing reflected not just in claims, but in the types of risks solicitors are seeking to mitigate earlier in the process. Where wills are made later in life, the evidential burden can become critical if a challenge arises.”
Blended Families Bring Competing Expectations
Modern family structures are another significant factor. Second marriages, stepchildren, cohabitees and estranged relatives now regularly feature in estate disputes, and the emotional weight behind each of those relationships can be considerable.
When a parent remarries, and their estate is distributed in ways that exclude or disadvantage children from a first marriage, the grief of loss can become entangled with feelings of rejection or injustice. These situations do not always lead to legal action, but they are creating the conditions for it more frequently than they used to.
The Financial Stakes Have Never Been Higher
For many younger adults who have found homeownership increasingly out of reach, an inheritance represents a rare and life-changing financial opportunity. That shift in stakes changes how people respond to being left out of a will, or to receiving less than they expected.
Brown observed: “What we are increasingly seeing is that disputes are being driven as much by financial pressure as by legal merit. As estate values rise, so too does the willingness of disappointed beneficiaries to pursue a claim.”
The Quiet Risk of DIY Wills
A further thread in this picture is the growth of wills prepared without professional legal advice. A national survey found that 23% of people with a will used a DIY kit, an online service, or another non-professional method. These documents are more prone to gaps in execution, ambiguous drafting, and an inability to account for the full complexity of a person’s family or financial situation.
When a will is unclear, or when someone dies without a valid will at all, the risk of family conflict increases significantly. Previous data from the Ministry of Justice has shown that intestate estates rose 17% in a single year to a five-year high of over 51,000.
What You Can Do to Protect the People You Love
None of this is inevitable. Thoughtful, professionally supported planning can reduce the likelihood of disputes arising after you are gone, and spare your family the additional burden of conflict at an already painful time.
Seeking professional legal advice when making or updating a will, particularly if your circumstances are complex, is one of the most important steps. Keeping detailed records, having open conversations with family members about your intentions, and revisiting your will when your life circumstances change can all help to reduce ambiguity.
For those administering an estate where a dispute has already emerged, or where the risk of one feels real, specialist insurance products exist to help manage the process. Brown noted: “Insurance plays a key role in that process, whether by protecting the estate, the beneficiaries, or the solicitor’s position. As claims frequency increases, having the right risk transfer mechanisms in place is becoming an essential part of modern probate practice.”
The rise in probate disputes is a legal trend. But at its heart, it is a human one. Families navigating loss deserve the chance to grieve without the added weight of a legal battle. Planning well and planning in time is one of the most generous things any of us can do for the people we will one day leave behind.
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Our Editorial Team are writers and experts in their field. Their views and opinions may not always be the views of Wellbeing Magazine. If you are under the direction of medical supervision please speak to your doctor or therapist before following the advice and recommendations in these articles.
