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ARTICLE · 28 AUGUST 2026

When A Will Cannot Be Relied Upon: Lessons From Ugolor v Ugolor

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Most people assume that once a person dies, their Will settles all of their estate matters as it acts as a record of what the Deceased wanted, and that it is just a matter for the Executors to carry the Deceased’s wishes out. That assumption is understandable. It is also, in some cases, wrong.

United KingdomFamily and Matrimonial
Skye Knott
Skye Knott
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Most people assume that once a person dies, their Will settles all of their estate matters as it acts as a record of what the Deceased wanted, and that it is just a matter for the Executors to carry the Deceased’s wishes out. That assumption is understandable. It is also, in some cases, wrong.

A Will can be challenged on a number of grounds and when it is, the court does not simply take the Will at face value. It asks a more fundamental question: does this Will genuinely reflect what the person who made it actually intended? If the answer is uncertain, the Will cannot stand.

The High Court’s decision in Ugolor and others v Ugolor and another [2026] EWHC 745 (Ch) shows exactly what that scrutiny looks like in practice, and what can happen when a Will fails to withstand it.

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