Someone has put in a caveat – what can I do? How do I serve a warning?

If you are applying for a Grant of Probate of someone’s estate and are notified that a caveat has been registered over the estate, you may wish to issue a warning at the Probate Registry.  You can do so at any time whilst the caveat is in place.

The effect of a warning is to give the person who entered the caveat (the caveator) 14 days (including the date of service) to either lodge an appearance setting out their grounds for maintaining the caveat (the procedure of which is dealt with in another blog) or to remove the caveat. If they do nothing, the caveat will be removed by the Probate Registry.

Issuing a warning is a straightforward process. You do so by sending Form 4 by post to the Leeds District Probate Registry. There is no fee and a copy of the form can be found at your local Probate Registry or through the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/court-and-tribunal-forms

A copy of the warning must then be served on the caveator either personally or by post.  If no appearance is entered within the 14 days, you should file an affidavit of service at the Leeds District Probate Registry. The caveat should then be removed.

The advantage of this process is that it is quick and cheap, and even if an Appearance is entered you should get further details about the grounds on which the caveat has been entered. This will help with the process of assessing whether or not the caveator has a good case to challenge the validity of the will.

We would recommend that you seek legal advice before taking any action. If you require assistance, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our Contentious Probate team.

* Disclaimer: The information on the Anthony Gold website is for general information only and reflects the position at the date of publication. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated as such. It is provided without any representations or warranties, express or implied.*