How Do You Remove A Caveat?

If there is a dispute about the will or who can apply for probate or letters of administration, a person can challenge the application by entering a caveat at the Probate Registry

A caveat lasts six months and can be extended for another six months. During this period, it will prevent a grant of representation from being obtained on the estate.

A caveat can be removed if:

• the person who lodged it, the caveator, voluntarily removes it by writing to the Probate Registry; or
• it is challenged by giving the caveator a formal warning. This can result in a permanent caveat which requires further legal action.

To give a warning, the person challenging the caveat, the caveatee, must:

1. Request Form 4 from the Leeds District Probate Registry.
2.  Fill out the form and explain why they are entitled to apply for probate or letters of administration.
3.  Send the form back to Leeds District Probate Registry. The completed warning form will be recorded, dated, stamped with the court stamp, and returned to the caveatee.
4.  Make a copy of the warning to keep.
5. Send or give the warning to the person who entered the caveat. Record how and when the warning was given, for example, by hand or post. It cannot be done by email. There is no fee.

The caveator will have 14 days to respond, including weekends and bank holidays. They can either:

• enter an appearance if they have a contrary interest, for example, they believe the will is invalid and they are entitled under an earlier or later will or, if there is no will, that the other party does not have the right to apply for probate; or
•  issue a summons if they do not have a contrary interest but, for example, they believe they are equally entitled to apply for probate or think the caveatee is not a suitable executor.

The caveat will become permanent if the caveator enters an appearance and the registrar agrees. A permanent caveat can only be removed by order of a District Probate Registrar, High Court Judge, or District Judge.

If the caveator issues a summons, the registrar will decide who is entitled to apply for probate and may propose an independent administrator to deal with the estate.

If the caveator does not respond in 14 days, the caveatee will complete an affidavit or witness statement, setting out when and how the warning was served on the caveator and return it to the Leeds District Probate Registry. The caveat will be removed, and the probate application can continue.

More information is available in the By Lawyers Estate Administration and Estate Disputes guides.