The most common mistakes leading to invalidity of a Will are:

• When the person who making the Will did not get their signature witnessed

• The witnesses were not together when the will was signed

In addition, if one of the witnesses is named as a beneficiary of the Will, they lose their right to their inheritance, while the rest of the Will remains valid.

If you think there has been a mistake made with the Will it is possible to lodge a ‘caveat’ at the probate registry to halt proceedings.  This is useful if someone is applying for letters of administration when they don’t have the right, or if there is something wrong with the Will.

It is strongly advised that you seek specialist legal advice if you find yourself in this position as it is difficult to prove that a Will is invalid.  In order to prove that a person was mentally incapable of making a valid Will you will need medical evidence.

Once you’ve made a Will, any subsequent marriage of civil partnership will invalidate that Will unless it is mentioned within the Will.  If you get divorced or dissolve a civil partnership after making a Will, any bequest to your former partner is ignore – the remaining instructions will remain valid.

The Inheritance (provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 can be used to claim for ‘reasonable financial provision’ or if you have been, in your view, unfairly, left out of a Will.

This process can only be followed if you are:

• The spouse or civil partner of the deceased.

• The former spouse or civil partner of the deceased (providing you have not remarried or given up your claim during the divorce or dissolution procedure.

• A co-habiting partner who lived with the deceased for at least two years immediately before they died.
• A child of the deceased.
• A person who was treated like the child of the family by the deceased when they were married (normally, a stepchild).
• A dependent of the deceased.

If you fall into one of these groups, seek legal advice.  The process of claiming is complicated and holds no guarantees of success.  Seek such advice as soon as possible as time limits and cost implications apply.

You should always make sure there is enough money in the estate to pay for the funeral before entering into an agreement with a funeral director.  If you do not do this you may have to pay the expenses out of your own pocket.

If you receive means-tested benefits and have been made responsible for the funeral arrangements with no provision left in the Will, you may be eligible for a Funeral Payment grant from the Social Fund.  Contact your local Social Security Office for more information.

These debts will still have to be settled.

If you are the executor of a Will you must make sure all debts are paid in full before the beneficiaries receive their inheritance.  You must take all reasonable steps to identify any creditors and wait two months before paying the beneficiaries.  Your consultant will provide you with information on how to carry this process out.  You may also be required to submit a tax return for the deceased.

If there are insufficient funds in the estate they must be prioritised as follows:

1. Mortgage

2. Funeral expenses

3. HM Revenue and Customs

4. The Department of Work and Pensions

5. Unpaid pension contributions or wages

If there are sufficient funds to pay debts but not enough to pay for everything set out in the Will, legacies (where a specific amount is mentioned) will be paid first and the remaining amount shared to those stipulated in the Will.

If there is not enough to pay all the legacies, the people entitled to the legacies will get a proportion of what they have been left, depending on how much money is available.  Anyone else mentioned in the Will as a beneficiary will receive nothing.