Contesting a Will: The use of Caveats

What exactly is a Caveat?

A Caveat is a written notice which is lodged at the Probate Registry. Its purpose is to suspend the administration of an estate and to prevent a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration being issued whilst the Caveat remains in place. This allows the person lodging the Caveat time to investigate any claims that they may have against an estate. 

A Caveat lasts for an initial period of 6 months which can be extended for a further 6 months at a time if you have not entered an Appearance or issued a summons.  You can however, only apply for an extension within the last month before the Caveat expires.

Why would I need to lodge a Caveat?

There are several reasons why you may wish to lodge a Caveat. These include:

• Where you have doubts about the validity of a Will including issues concerning:
  -The Mental capacity of the testator when the Will was made
  -Suspicions about undue influence of the testator by others
  -A suspicion that the Will is forged or fraudulent
• Whether a Will exists.
• You may have a dispute about who can apply for Probate or the suitability of the person applying for such

However, in lodging a Caveat you must have a legitimate interest in the estate and must be 18 years of age or over. The cost of lodging a Caveat is £3.  In order to apply for a Caveat, you will need to know:

• The full name of the deceased
• The exact date of death
• The last known address of the deceased

Any application for probate will be stopped one working day following receipt of your Caveat application.

However, if a probate application is approved on the same day you submit a Caveat, probate will be granted and the Caveat ineffective.

Warnings and Appearances

In the event the person applying for probate disagrees with your Caveat, they could seek to resolve the issues with you and ask you to withdraw it.  In the alternative, they can issue a formal ‘Warning’.

You can withdraw or amend a Caveat by email or post.  However, if a formal Warning was issued and you have entered an “Appearance” you cannot withdraw the Caveat, it can only be removed by order of a District Probate Registrar, High Court Judge or District Judge.

If the party seeking the grant of probate issues a formal Warning in response to the Caveat, you will only have 14 days in which to respond by either entering an Appearance or issuing a Summons.  An Appearance is effectively a response to the Warning - and if the Registrar agrees with the response, then as above, the Caveat will be made permanent.  In order to enter an Appearance, you must have what is known as a contrary interest in relation to whether or not the Will should be admitted to probate.  A contrary interest in these circumstances means that the person who has entered the Caveat must have a potential interest in the estate, for example, under an earlier Will or on intestacy if the Will being the subject of the Caveat is found to be invalid.

When it is not appropriate to lodge a Caveat

It would be inappropriate to lodge a Caveat if it is your intention to pursue a claim for reasonable financial provision pursuant to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.  The use of a Caveat in this context may be considered an abuse of process and could result in an order for costs being awarded against the Caveator.

Lack of Interest in the Deceased’s Estate

In some instances, a party who does not have an interest in whether or not a Will is admitted to probate will nonetheless lodge a Caveat with the objective of preventing the person who is otherwise entitled to the grant from obtaining it.  This could be for example a creditor of the estate, who has no interest either way in whether or not a Will is valid, but may consider that the named executor is unsuitable and wishes to prevent that person from administering the estate.

That is a perfectly legitimate scenario however, in such a case, the party who has entered the Caveat, (if they lack a contrary interest), must issue a summons to bring the matter before a District Judge of the Principal Registry or a Probate Registrar and explain why the person Warning the Caveat should not be entitled to a grant of probate.

In addition, there have been occasions whereby someone will have entered a Caveat and an Appearance to a Warning where they are seeking to prevent a Will being admitted to probate, but their position is meritless and wholly untenable. In these cases where the Caveator has no prospect of gaining any benefit, a summons may be issued to bring the matter before a District Judge of the Principle Registry or a Probate Registrar to have the matter dealt with summarily by applying to have the Caveat vacated.  

Moore & Tibbits’ Dispute Resolution team dealt with one such matter during early 2025 and successfully disposed of the same through correspondence, having investigated the Caveator’s relationship with the deceased and their apparent intent to act vexatiously towards the named executor who was also the sole beneficiary.  The Caveator withdraw the Caveat allowing the grant of probate and the administration of the estate.

Issuing a Summons

A Caveator does not need to demonstrate a contrary interest in the estate in order to issue a Summons.  It may be the case that the Caveator considers he or she is also entitled to apply for probate and/or believes the current executor is unsuitable to administer the estate.  A person wishing to issue a Summons will need to request a form of summons from the Leeds District Probate Registry, complete this and return it together with a signed statement of facts setting out the grounds to be relied upon.  The Registrar will consider the documents and decide who is entitled to apply for probate and administer the estate in question.  The Registrar could also recommend that an independent administrator is appointed to deal with the estate.

No response to a Warning

If, after issuing a formal Warning there is no response within the 14 day timeframe from the Caveator, the party applying for probate should complete a Statement of Service.  In completing the Statement of Service it will be necessary to confirm when and how you sent the Warning to the Caveator and return this to the Leeds District Probate Registry.  If no response has been received to the Warning, the Caveat will be removed and the application for probate will continue.

Legal Advice

If you have concerns regarding the validity of a Will or the suitability or appropriateness of the proposed executors/administrators and are considering the viability of entering a Caveat and/or you have entered a Caveat and have been served with a Warning, we strongly recommend you seek independent legal advice as to your position at the earliest possible opportunity.

Sioban Calcott and Judith Owen in our Dispute Resolution team are here to help and will be more than happy to assist you and provide advice as to your position.  Please therefore do not hesitate to contact either of them on 01926 491181 or by email at SiobanC@moore-tibbits.co.uk or JudithO@moore-tibbits.co.uk