Caveat applications up 12% year on year, fuelling rise in probate disputes

Applications for caveats increased by 12% in 2025 compared with 2024, as efforts to halt or delay the administration of estates intensify. 

A freedom of information request by TWM Solicitors found 11,589 caveats were placed in 2025, compared with 10,313 in 2024. The firm points to rising estate values and “complex family dynamics” as key drivers for the rise.

“In many parts of the UK even relatively modest estates can now be worth £500,000 to £1 million simply because they include a family home,” said Stuart Downey, a lawyer at TWM Solicitors. “As the value of estates rises, so too does the potential for disputes between family members. Increasingly, people factor expected inheritances into their long-term financial planning. When the reality falls short of expectations, it can quickly lead to disagreements and legal challenges.”

Downey noted the cost of placing a caveat, £3, was also contributing to the rise in disputes and suggested an increase in blended families involving stepchildren, half-siblings and second marriages was a contributing factor, along with concerns about the validity of a will – particularly when capacity issues or the suitability of an executor of an estate were also factors.

“It is becoming more common to see children from different relationships taking action against each other when they feel they have been treated unfairly or overlooked in a will,” he explained.

“Challenges frequently arise where there are concerns about whether someone had the mental capacity to make or change their will, particularly where dementia or other cognitive conditions are involved. Families are also increasingly alert to the possibility that vulnerable individuals may have been pressured into altering their wishes.”

The data chimes with a separate report published by Solomonic in recent weeks which identified an annual total of 1,217 disputed probate cases were filed at the High Court in 2025; up from 1,080 in 2024, and 816 in 2020. The legal data platform said drivers of litigation included the blended nature of modern families; an aging population with increasing challenges to testamentary capacity; the value of estates and the cost of living; and “public appetite” for “both litigation and for DIY or cheaply prepared professional wills”.