Inheritance disputes are as old as time, but in recent years, there’s been an increase in families embroiled in legal arguments. Currently, industry experts believe that in England and Wales, as many as 10,000 people are disputing wills and the division of estates. While some inheritance disputes are settled out of court, others end up before a judge, and solicitors report that their workload on these cases has doubled in the last three to four years.
To better understand the current status of inheritance disputes in the UK, we reviewed data sourced from 241,736 people across the country, covering a 12-month period ending September 30, 2024. The data was sourced from popular social media platforms, and our survey rated the engagement levels of respondents on various related topics.
Here are the various stances on inheritance disputes, 2024 statistics, and the demographics of those discussing the topic online.
Why Inheritance Disputes Are On The Rise
The pandemic, increased property prices and cost of living, extended life expectancy, changing family dynamics, the publicising of contentious probate cases, and TV shows are just some of the factors influencing the growing number of inheritance disputes.
COVID-19 caused many testators to opt for DIY wills or electronically signed testaments, leading to numerous disputes over their validity. Now, many of these issues are coming to light as those who took this route have passed away, leaving those left behind questioning the testator's bequests.
With property becoming more valuable in recent years, there is also more inheritable wealth, which has led to increased fights over inheritance. With the values of estates rising, there is often a larger financial incentive to dispute, especially when matters can be resolved through mediation rather than litigation, where the costs are far less prohibitive.
The expectation of intergenerational wealth transfer has exacerbated this issue, too. Due to the increased cost of living and younger generations struggling to enter the property market,more people rely on an inheritance to secure their future. When inheritance is not forthcoming, many are willing to risk a claim to try and secure property or cash to which they feel entitled.
As family dynamics change and become more complicated, with step-and-half children and children born out of wedlock being the norm, a will does not always favour those who expect it to. Additionally, if a person dies intestate, the rules of intestacy can lead to disagreements if they don't reflect the dynamic that was in place.
Add an ageing population that is living longer and a rising dementia rate that shows one in 11 people over the age of 65 suffer from this syndrome, and the likelihood of a claim a will is invalid due to mental incapacity or undue influence increases dramatically.
Public awareness has also played a role in increasing inheritance disputes, with high profile cases receiving heavy media coverage. From the contested estates of celebrities like Aretha Franklin and Prince to the children of a millionaire tyre tycoon disputing a £55 million will, public interest has been piqued. Popular TV shows like Channel 5’s ‘Inheritance Wars: Who Gets the Money?’ and ‘The Inheritance’ have fuelled the fire too, no doubt encouraging more people to fight for what they believe is rightfully theirs.
Why Are You Disputing Your Inheritance?
Inheritance laws the reason for over ⅓ of disputes
Over a third of Brits are disputing their inheritance due to local laws. The graph below outlines the most-talked-about reasons respondents cite for their fight:
There have been numerous changes to inheritance law in the UK in recent years, amongst them the April 2024 inheritance tax nil-rate band, the Digital Assets Inheritance Act (draft legislation), updates to intestacy rules, and increased inheritance rights for people who were effectively stepchildren of unmarried partners. It's understandable that inheritance laws garnered the highest engagement levels of the 200,00+ people surveyed. 33.6% of disputes were due to these laws, and 31.3% were due to legal issues. Trust disputes also rated highly, at 22.4%, before engagement levels plummeted.
Next on the list as a reason for dispute was the valuation of assets, but this only racked up 4.8% engagement, followed by will interpretation (3.6%) and financial concerns (1.5%). Barely registering any engagement was emotional distress (1%), while family dynamics and communication breakdowns tied at 0.9% as the least likely cause of the dispute.
When asked whether these statistics accurately reflect his experience, Duncan Scott, a Senior Associate at Dutton Gregory, confirmed that most of the claims he sees are about the following:
- Defending and bringing a 1975 Act claim.
- Claims for removal of executors.
- Claims for undue influence/lack of capacity/fraud calumny (when the testator changes or writes their will in a certain way following false accusations or representations by another beneficiary).
- Disputes over the construction of the will.
- Trust disputes.
- Rectification of a will.
These claims correlate with the engagement levels recorded in the survey and highlight how the changing inheritance laws impact the number of disputes arising now.
The Family Member I Have An Inheritance Dispute With Is My…
Almost 50% of all inheritance disputes are with siblings
Our data reveals that disputes between siblings are the most common in the UK, with nearly half of all respondents citing them as the party they are fighting with. The following statistics reveal who else these disputes are commonly with.
UK newspapers regularly run stories about siblings involved in expensive, protracted legal battles over inheritance. This isn’t too surprising when you consider that 49.5% of respondents in our survey list siblings as the family member with whom they have an inheritance dispute. Duncan Scott echoes these findings, saying that in his experience, well over 50% of the parties involved in inheritance disputes are usually siblings.
Interestingly, the second highest engagement rate showed that 17.1% of people were fighting with their spouse, who is the only family member on the list with no genetic link (unless adoption is a factor). Those who listed disputes with their niece only garnered a 7.3% engagement level, followed by an aunt at 6.9% and a parent at 5%. A grandparent came in at just 4,3%, an uncle at 4% and a child at 2.9%, while only 2.6% were disputing with a cousin.
Disputes with a nephew came in last, at just 0.2%, a notable 7.1% lower than those with a niece that claimed the third-most disputed spot.
My Inheritance Dispute Is About…
The majority of inheritance disputes are about executor issues
The data shows that the least number of disputes are about family heirlooms, while the most are about executor issues. Let’s take a closer look at what the data in the graph reveals:
Considering that removing an executor is challenging, and even more so if probate has been granted, it’s not too unexpected that the majority (31.2%) of disputes are about executor issues. For Scott, over 50% of his current work concerns disputes between executors, confirming just how common these disputes are. Trust disputes come in relatively close behind with 25.6%, while will disputes get 19.8% engagement.
There's a marked drop after beneficiary claims (8.3%), with intestate succession at 3.9%, property division and debts and liabilities tying at just 3.2%, and financial assets at 2.7%. Of those surveyed, legal fees and family heirlooms receive the least engagement, at 11% and 1%, respectively.
Which Specialist Type Are You Turning To Resolve Your Probate Issue?
36.4% of respondents choose solicitors to assist with inheritance disputes
Solicitors are the most commonly sought-after specialists for probate issues, while barristers are the least. Here’s what the data reveals:
In 2023, there were 122 contested probate cases, up from 116 cases in 2022. With an ever-growing number of cases ending up before a judge, it's understandable that the top four specialists respondents are relying on to resolve their disputes are legal professionals. Solicitors are the most common option at 36.4%, followed by probate lawyers at 28.7%, legal consultants at 20.8% and family lawyers at 9.4%.
The remaining four specialists that received minor engagement were estate planners (2.9%), followed by trustees (1.6%) and lastly, barristers at 0.3%. With barristers earning larger salaries and charging higher fees than most legal professionals, their spot at the bottom of the chart makes economic sense.
How Was Your Inheritance Issue Resolved?
Legal advice is the most popular resolution for inheritance disputes
The vast majority of respondents agreed that seeking legal advice was what led to their issue being resolved. As the graph below shows, other avenues of resolution were far less common.
Almost 390 probate disputes were brought before England’s High Court over the first nine months of 2023, and this was just the tip of the iceberg of those involved in an argument over inheritance. The fact that a whopping 84.7% of respondents had their inheritance dispute resolved by seeking legal advice highlights the need for professional resolution and that most issues are not easily resolved without legal input.
Mediation, while sometimes conducted with the help of legal professionals, was only responsible for 6.9% of respondents' resolutions, which means there was a 77.8% gap between this form of resolution and legal advice.
This contradicts Scott’s experience, as many of his claims settle at mediation. Scott emphasises the importance of mediation in such matters, as it’s well-suited for disputes where emotions tend to run high between the family members involved. Mediation allows for a settlement to be agreed upon, avoiding potentially protracted and costly litigation. Reaching a resolution this way also affords a degree of flexibility for all parties as they can agree on a settlement amongst themselves and deal with matters that a court may not address.
Despite mediation being such a beneficial and important option, our research found that family discussion didn’t rate very highly either, with only 2% of respondents citing this as the way they resolved their dispute, while settlement didn’t fare well either, with just 1.9% engagement.
Court rulings resolved 1.5% of issues, trust resolution 1.3%, and will contestation only 0.7%. Negotiation and inheritance tax considerations were the least common forms of resolution, tying with a meagre 0.5% engagement rate.
2024 Inheritance Dispute Age, Gender, And Salary Statistics
The largest age demographic engaged in inheritance disputes is over 65
Our survey found that over 65s had the highest number of disputes while those between 35-44 had the least. This is how the age groups compared:
The current life expectancy in the UK is 81.92 years, which is a 0.18% increase from 2023. This increase in life expectancy isn’t unusual; the age has been rising for several years. Between 2020 and 2023 alone, it experienced a 0.15% increase every year. With life expectancy getting longer and the cost of living constantly on the rise, it’s interesting to see that our data shows that the largest number of people engaged in inheritance disputes are over 65 (30.3%). This means that although younger people are battling to get a financial foothold or purchase property, those in the older age brackets are still ahead in terms of engaging in disputes.
The rest of the age groups stacked up as follows, with the younger generations coming in with the least recorded engagement:
- 45-54: 21.8%
- 55-64: 20.1%
- 35-44: 12.2%
- Under 25: 11.5%
- 25-34: 4.2%
More than half of those involved in inheritance disputes are female
The data shows that of the 41,736 people engaged in inheritance disputes are female, but men are not far behind:
With 56% of respondents being female and 44% male, there’s not a major difference between the number of men and women involved in inheritance disputes. What is interesting to note is that women may have an additional cause to fight a will if it is based on patriarchal thinking.
Although testamentary freedom has long been upheld as the fundamental guiding principle in the UK, the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act of 1975 safeguards against potential injustices and allows the court to redistribute assets in favour of a close family member or dependent, should a will fail to do so. As women are usually the primary caregivers, this ensures they can dispute a will if provision has not been made for them.
Just under 95% of those engaged in inheritance disputes are lower income earners
According to our research, the vast majority of respondents engaged in an inheritance dispute earn the least. We’ve taken a closer look at the income gaps.
With just under 5% majority, 94.3% of those surveyed earned between USD40,000 and USD80,000 (approximately £30,552 and £61,104). In 2024, the mean UK weekly wage is £689, or £35,830 annually pre-taxation, putting those in the majority largely in this category. Those who earned $120,000 to $200,000 (£91,657 and £152,762) had engagement rates of 3.4%, while those with the lowest engagement rates (2.3%) earned between $80,000 and $120,000 (£61,104 and £91,657).
Considering rising property prices and the cost of living are making more people reliant on inheritance for financial freedom—or even simply to remain solvent—it’s not surprising that the majority of those disputing inheritance are those who need a windfall the most.
On reviewing these statistics, Duncan Scott commented that the nearly 95% of low earners disputing claims did not reflect in his caseload. However, he has noticed an increase in the number of firms that carry out 1975 Act claims on a no-win-no-fee basis, also known as Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs).
Scott says that with this Act, claimants who were previously put off from engaging in litigation now have access to justice through CFA’s. However, he is wary of getting involved in this kind of work. He explained that while he does not have many people asking him to act on this basis, 1975 Act claims with CFA’s are usually made by adult children. Without wishing to generalise, adult children often face a significant uphill battle when pursuing these claims. Many potential claimants struggle to distinguish between the fact that the court will not look at whether the will or intestacy has produced a just outcome. Instead, the courts look at whether reasonable maintenance is required by the potential claimant rather than any entitlement to a capital sum. Able-bodied adult children who can work usually have difficulties persuading the courts that they have a meritorious claim.
As is evident, there are multiple reasons for challenging a will, and probate disputes are clearly becoming far more commonplace. As the data shows, seeking legal assistance is the preferred way of reaching a resolution, as these cases can be complex and are not always clear-cut. As people become more aware of their rights and as economic conditions make generational wealth even more important, we can expect to see an even greater increase in those seeking to stake their rightful claims.
About The Data
The data used in this article was sourced from an independent sample of 241,736 people in the UK from X, Quora, Reddit, TikTok and Threads. The responses were collected within a 95% confidence interval and 4% margin of error. Engagement estimates how many people in the location participate, and demographics are determined using many features, including name, location and self-disclosed description. Privacy is preserved using k-anonymity and differential privacy. Results are based on what people describe online — questions were not posed to the people in the sample.
