If you own any assets then yes. If you die without a valid Will your assets will pass in accordance with the Intestacy Rules. In many cases these rules will not reflect you wishes and could result in claims being brought against your estate from disappointed beneficiaries leading to unnecessary costs eroding the value of your estate.
An executor does not have to accept their appointment but once they do they cannot retire without the approval of the court.
An executor can formally renounce their appointment as executor or allow the other executors to act and have power reserved to them. The latter means that if their co-executors, who do accept the role or are unable to complete the administration of the estate they can assume their role as executor at a later date.
Yes. There are five grounds upon which you can challenge the validity of a Will:-
a) The deceased did not have the necessary mental capacity at thetime the Will was made;
b) The deceased did not know or approve the contents of the Will;
c) The deceased was coerced or unduly influenced into making the Will;
d) The Will is a forgery or it was fraudulently created;
e) Lack of proper formalities – you can contest the validity of a Will if it was not correctly witnessed or otherwise was not properly executed.
Please note there are other claims you can bring against an Estate in addition to disputing the validity of a Will. These include seeking to enforce a promise made to you by the deceased, a claim for reasonable financial provision where the deceased has not made reasonable provision for you and/or asserting an interest in property or assets owned by the deceased to which you have contributed.
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