Solicitor Advice for Probate Disputes and Stalled Estates
When an estate is stuck, you may not know what to ask or do next. Justin Patten can help you understand the problem and your options. We agree the work and fixed fee before starting.
We mainly act for executors and administrators. We also help beneficiaries seeking estate accounts or advice and negotiation about replacing an executor before court proceedings.
Prefer to speak? 01279 215580 Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm.
Prefer email? Email Justin at advice@human-law.co.uk. An enquiry does not commit you to payment.
What Is Holding the Estate Up?
A caveat is blocking probate
A Grant is blocked or a warning needs attention. See fixed fees for defined caveat stages.
An executor will not cooperate
A co-executor will not act, respond or sign. Ask for a fixed-fee quotation for a focused decision request.
I'm an executor facing an accounts request
What to provide and how to respond.
I'm a beneficiary seeking estate accounts
An executor has not provided the accounts you requested. Beneficiary accounts: formal request letter — £780 including VAT.
A property sale is blocked
A co-executor or beneficiary will not agree to sell, let or transfer an estate property.
A beneficiary is missing or not responding
The estate cannot be distributed because a beneficiary cannot be found or will not reply.
An executor is threatened with removal
Understand how to respond to a removal threat.
Trustees cannot agree
A trust decision is blocked by disagreement.
Browse all guidance and free tools →
We can advise on enquiries about how a will was made. When a caveat is blocking probate, we act for executors and administrators through advice, negotiation and Probate Registry work, including contested Registry applications. Read our services and scope →
Work Directly with Justin Patten
Justin Patten is a practising solicitor with more than 20 years’ experience in dispute resolution and private-client law. He founded Human Law in 2002. Justin personally carries out your document review and consultation.
Also author of A Practical Guide to Elderly Law (2nd ed.) and A Practical Guide to Elderly Fraud · Former legal adviser to Which? members · Featured in Legal Futures and Today’s Wills & Probate.
Justin Patten
Solicitor · Human Law
Watch Justin’s 54-second introduction
Read the video transcript
Hello, my name is Justin Patten. I'm a solicitor and principal at Human Law.
When you have a problem on a deceased person's estate, it's difficult, it's emotional and it can sometimes appear that a solution is not in sight.
What we try and do is provide a straightforward approach to resolving the situation. What is exactly the problem which is causing the estate not to move? What is required to resolve it? What steps can we take to sort this matter out as quickly and as effectively as possible?
If you think that we can help, by all means contact me. You can do so by email or during office hours you can call me and I'll try and come back to you as quickly as possible. Hope to hear from you soon.
Fixed fees, agreed before any work starts
Your first enquiry is free. Tell us what is stuck and we will check whether we can help and explain the proposed work and fixed fee. A short suitability call can be arranged.
Where the work can be defined from the information available, we can quote directly without a separate assessment.
Want a standalone assessment? Justin’s Dispute Assessment & Action Plan costs £480 including VAT. It includes review of up to 40 selected core pages concerning one main issue, a 30-minute consultation and a two-page Action Plan.
Any further work has a fixed fee that we tell you before it starts. You decide whether to go ahead. How our stage fees work →
What Clients Say
“Justin has a calm professional manner, we would highly recommend him.”
Read client reviews on ReviewSolicitors (opens in a new tab) →
Tell us what is stuck
Call 01279 215580 · Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm.
Discuss whether Human Law can help and how the fixed fees work.