Saving the family fortune: Inheritance disputes and why they're on the rise
Disputes over wills can be financially ruinous and destroy families. Claire Cox of Willans LLP sits down with Andrew Merrell to explain why an increasing number of us are deciding it's still worth it.
Dear readers,
Disputes over wills can be one of the most stressful, life-changing journeys we ever undertake. They can cause incredible emotional stress at a time when many of those involved are still trying to deal with the heartache resulting from the death of a loved-one - and they can split families forever.
Yet the number of us choosing to contest what’s written down on paper and fight, sometimes until our last penny is spent, knowing we may never talk to family members ever again, continues to rise. Why?
I was lucky enough to sit down with Claire Cox from Willans LLP, an established expert in this growing field, to hear her thoughts.
Special thanks to Claire for her time and patience waiting for us to publish the main story below. And a massive congratulations.
Despite what we might think, relatively few disputes over wills reach the High Court. She has recently returned victorious, again from one of those rare visits.
Welcome to Thursday’s main story (see below).
If you are hesitating to draw up a will, you may not be after reading this one!
Regular readers will know that Monday and Fridays’ emails are what we call ‘full editions’, carrying as they do some briefing notes, diary dates, charity news and more.
The main reads on Thursday and Friday’s emails are often paywalled to help pay for what we do - original journalism about Gloucestershire to fill the hole where it once was.
Today’s story in free to read, however, thanks to out Founding Partners, key to making this operation possible.
Best regards,
Andrew Merrell (editor).
Briefing Notes
🏘️🏗️👷♀️ Merger creates major housing association with big plans: A housebuilder from Gloucestershire has merged with a South West business to create one of the UK’s largest housing associations. The deal is said to mark a “significant milestone” in the group’s long-term strategy to deliver more genuinely affordable homes, and continue to invest in or regenerate existing homes and services. It plans to build -50,000 homes by 2050. The merger brings together the joint forces of Tewkesbury-headquartered Bromford Flagship and Exeter-based LiveWest.
🫘☕🥐Café Forum Coffee will open this spring in Gloucester’s new Forum office, retail and leisure quarter. The business has teamed up with coffee roastery Ethical Addictions, which was founded in Gloucester by Ian Meredith in 2006 and which works directly with arabica farmers, paying them fairly, looking after the environment and supplying a great tasting coffee to the UK. Forum Coffee is currently recruiting to key roles.
🥳 Ecclesiastical has been recognised for excellence in claims handling by independent consultancy Gracechurch for the fifth year in a row. The findings are based on responses from insurance brokers operating in the UK commercial market and measure both the quality of the service and the credibility of the claims teams. Gracechurch awarded Ecclesiastical the Service Quality Marque (SQM), given annually to businesses that consistently deliver outstanding service quality for claims handling.
Gloucestershire’s apprenticeship open evening draws nearer
February is almost upon us - a month when the nation celebrates apprenticeships with a UK-wide National Apprenticeship Week, and Gloucestershire College is readying itself to stage the county’s own special event.
The college, which has campuses in Gloucester, the Forest of Dean and Cheltenham, is probably the county’s biggest single provider of apprenticeship training.
It works with more than 1,000 businesses across 17 industries to support hundreds of apprentices annually.
National Apprenticeship Week, which runs from 9-15 February, helps raise the profile of a route to work chosen by thousands every year, a route that allows businesses to help shape their own staff, bring through the next generation and up-skill its existing team members.
Gloucestershire College is due to run a special Apprenticeship Open Evening on Wednesday 25 February 2026 from 5pm to 8pm at its Gloucester Campus, Llanthony Road. It’s free to attend.
Many of Gloucestershire’s best employers, big and small, will be on hand to chat to anyone who wants to know more and there are still spaces for other businesses to join, at no cost.
Programmes at the college cover everything from construction, professional services, engineering, dental, catering, teaching and hairdressing to cyber security and computing. Apprenticeships range from entry-level to Level 6 degree (equal to a university degree).
Find out more on eventbrite.co.uk. Employers interested in booking a free stand at the event can email employer.training@gloscol.ac.uk or marketing@gloscol.ac.uk
Diary Dates
Friday
🎸🎶🎶 More than two hours of classic rock anthems from artists including Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Free, Eagles and Jimi Hendrix will make up The Ultimate Classic Rockshow tonight, from 7.30pm, at Stroud Sub Rooms.
Saturday
⚽ Gloucester City FC play Sholing FC (Southampton) at 3pm away.
⚽ Cheltenham Town FC play Accrington Stanley away at 3pm.
⚽ Forest Green Rovers FC play Wealdstone at home at 3pm.
Sunday
🏉 Gloucester Rugby v Bristol Bears away. KO 3pm.
⚽ Gloucester City Women FC play Bristol’s AEK Boko away at 2pm.
Future thinking…
Real Estate unlocked: Dispute Resolution seminar. We’re flagging this one well-ahead of its start-date. On 3 February at 3.45pm to 5.30pm the team from Willans, one of the Founding Partners of The Raikes Journal, will deliver the second in a series covering everything from lease terms to litigation. Insight and networking opportunities. More here.
Gloucestershire College is due to stage its Apprenticeship Open Evening 2026, where county employers who excel at delivering apprenticeships across the sectors will lay out their stalls to wannabe apprentices. Due to take place between 5pm and 8pm on 25 February. More here.
Saving the family fortune: Inheritance disputes and why they’re on the rise
Disputes over wills can destroy families and be financially ruinous. Claire Cox of Willans LLP sits down with Andrew Merrell to explain why an increasing number of us are deciding it’s still worth it.
More than 10,000 of us every year are now disputing wills, leading to a growing number of potentially financially ruinous, highly emotional stressful and often acrimonious court cases. Just what is going on?
Those in the legal profession point to the rise in the number of deaths of ‘property-rich baby boomers’, those born between 1946 and 1964, and the resulting increased financial stake for descendants and named beneficiaries.
And then there’s the rise in disputes related to dementia. Some 980,000 of us in the UK are estimated to be living with symptoms, a figure projected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040.
“There is also increased complexity because of what we might call blended families, which have become more common and require significantly more estate planning,” said Claire Cox, a partner at Gloucestershire-based Willans LLP solicitors and an expert in this area of law.
According to the 2021 Census more than one million dependent children now live in blended stepfamilies and up to 50 per cent of parents remarry within five years of a separation or divorce.
“On top of that, more than half of people don’t have a will (it’s actually 57 per cent in the South West, but that’s more than all other areas, except London),” added Cox.
“Many people seem to still think that estates get passed automatically down the bloodline or to unmarried partners. They don’t.”
In short, the number of wills being disputed looks set to continue to rise.
And calling for a different distribution of a deceased’s estate is made possible under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, on the basis that reasonable financial provision has not been made for those who are eligible.
If it goes to court, a judge will weigh the financial resources and needs of those left out of the will and those included in it (or the impact of the distribution under intestacy rules), the size of the estate, mental and physical disabilities and the conduct of the applicant.
With both sides so emotionally invested, the stakes are high. There is no getting around it, warns Cox, such disputes can be long, arduous and expensive.
Which is why she aims to settle as many as possible out of court through mediation, giving everyone a chance to speak and contribute with the aim of reaching a peaceful conflict resolution. She will even advise some clients that the costs are too prohibitive for them to proceed.
“I think there were 122 will validation cases last year that went to court (UK-wide). It’s still relatively rare because of prohibitive costs, but it is increasing,” she said.
Cox’s rise as an expert in this area of law found new momentum last year when she became a partner with Willans’ already highly experienced litigation and dispute resolution team, headed by senior partner Paul Gordon (pictured below).
It’s a position that’s allowed her to build on her 18 years of experience as a litigator.
When we meet at the firm’s Imperial Square offices in Cheltenham to chat about how she has forged her career to date, where it all began, and how she manages the emotional journey each case brings, she has just returned from one of those rare court visits.
Cox was representing four grown-up daughters from Gloucestershire contesting the will of their late father on the grounds he lacked capacity. They were ‘all-in’, coming together to fight the long-running battle.
Willans had already successfully challenged the will for the daughters in 2014, on the basis that the deceased lacked capacity due to late-onset schizophrenia, but now Cox was at the sharp end in court seeking to overturn the will.
The daughter’s late father, Michael Gwilliam of the Forest of Dean, had always told his daughters his farm and estate would pass to them when he died.
But his mental health deteriorated and Gwilliam was sectioned under the Mental Health Act (1983) in early 2014. Nevertheless, by the end of that same year he had a new will prepared leaving his daughters just 25 per cent of that estate. The remainder going to his sister, ex-girlfriend and nephews.
And the will had also been prepared by an experienced paralegal, with a nurse testifying that Gwilliam and the capacity to sign his new will. The legal challenge was immense.
When we spoke for this article, Cox has spent the summer in court, but still didn’t know what the final outcome would be.
She warned every client, she said, not just about the financial costs, but to be ready for the emotional costs too.
Some, she said, will seek a conciliatory stance to preserve relationships, while others will decide a firmer line is necessary.
“It’s also risky because it (taking a case to court) is fact-specific,” she said.
But at the end of last week, just as we are about to publish, news comes through that Cox’s a judge in the High Court had ruled in favour of her argument, bringing to an end what she called “a harrowing case” for her clients.
The four daughters had been victorious afterall.
Caroline Gwilliam, one of Michael’s daughters, described Cox as providing “exceptional skill, clear guidance and steadfast support”.
You can read a full article outlining the case here: Willans’ partner secures High Court victory
There are plenty of other cases the Cheltenham-based lawyer is able to reach for where the journey has also been stressful and emotionally demanding - and the outcome the same, a victory for her clients.
In a more general sense, she has also successfully litigated for a client facing a contentious claim by a family member for a beneficial interest in her property, conducted multiple online mediations to secure out-of-court settlements and ‘pragmatic outcomes’, guided executors through a stalemate where a dispute had arisen and obtained a discontinuance for a substantial claim against an estate where social media evidence proved to be in direct contrast to the claimant’s testimony.
The list goes on.
Where did her passion for law begin?
“I remember being at school and looking at colleges, seeing A-Level law and saying ‘that’s for me’.
“I also liked history and English – weighing up evidence and making an argument for and against.
“But I also knew I wanted to do something where I could help people.
“I took A-Level law at Cirencester College and I absolutely loved it. When I started training I knew I wanted to litigate in an area to do with family.
“I went into general litigation for a long time, but I did not find it challenging enough - although I knew I still wanted to do something people-based,” said Cox.
Her job was one of the many victims of the Covid-19 pandemic, but when she joined an Oxfordshire law firm as an inheritance disputes solicitor she found what she was looking for.
“They said if I wanted to build my own team, I could. I managed to get enough work in to do that and built a team of three.”
By the time she left the firm she was head of inheritance disputes. And, importantly, she knew she had found her specialist area.
But it wasn’t just a new law firm she needed in order to continue practising; there was the small matter of finding one that believed a working mother could be an ambitious career woman at the same time.
“When I joined my previous firm, I had a six-month-old and a three-year-old,” she recalls.
As she found out, not all firms believe that combination can be a success.
Willans saw it differently. She was ambitious, talented, had proven herself and if she could bring in the work and deliver for clients then why would it not allow the flexibility she might need for family life too?
“To be able to do that (commit to both a domestic and professional life), you need to be incredibly organised and driven. You need to be able to prioritise. I think that is a positive thing,” said Cox.
“I have been through a lot of adversity to get to where I wanted to be. I knew I just needed to find a firm that would give me the opportunity to continue to prove I can deliver.
“At the end of the day, it’s about delivering the quality of work and outcomes the clients and the firm expect,” she said.
“It (the move to Willans) has been everything that I wanted.
“It has been really challenging, but we are able to give people who might not otherwise get it, some access to justice. That is hugely satisfying.”
She has even somehow managed to work into her busy schedule one of those early morning gym habits that seems to be increasingly a part of the lives of her generation and those following on.
“I want to stay fit and healthy for my children - and to try and set them a good example in everything I do,” she says, when I ask ‘why?’, and where she finds the motivation - let alone the time.
Her journey has turned her into a highly experienced expert in inheritance and trust disputes, as well as contentious probate, assisting with disputes between executors or trustees, estate administration issues, breaches of trust and claims regarding will validity.
She’s also an expert in dealing with contentious trusts outside of inheritance disputes, such as in cases where an individual considers that they have an interest in a property not legally owned by them (known as TOLATA claims).
And she’s an associate member of the Association of Contentious Trusts and Probate Specialists, an organisation for solicitors, barristers and legal executives specialising in contentious trust and probate work.
“I always ask people to start with what it is they want to achieve when the come to see me. Money is not always the aim for everyone, but it is challenging for everyone.
“I am there when they are trying to deal with what can be the shock of their lives, and they have often not even buried their family members yet.
“We (Willans) work very closely together with clients on something that is the most important thing in their lives at that time.
“It is not just a job, it is more demanding and emotional, and it is great when you can find a solution that works for everyone.”
Not surprisingly, she advises everyone to get a will drawn up by a professional - and certainly to get good legal advice if a dispute arises.
You only have to listen to the story of one of her cases to quickly realise that is very, very good advice.