New data have shown the area of contentious wills, trusts, and probate has grown to such an extent over the last four years that the number of law firms offering advice on these issues has more than doubled since 2018.

The number of firms offering contentious probate services advice has increased from 116 in October 2018 to 268 in October 2022, reports a new study from IRN Legal.

For disputed wills, there’s been an increase from 115 firms to 250 firms in the same period and, for disputed trusts, an increase from 73 to 166 since 2018.

The research suggests poorly drafted wills, including provisions for business valuation, are the prime reason for the increase in disputes. Other factors include a substantial increase in real and business asset value, more complex family structures, the increase in remarriages, blended families, and cohabitation.

More of these disputes are being heard at the High Court of the Chancery Division, which dealt with 105 disputed probate cases in 2021 increasing from 68 in 2020 and 72 in 2019.

Earlier this year, IBB Solicitors published its “Inheritance Dispute Report 2022” based on responses from 1,000 UK adults who had been involved in a will, inheritance, or probate dispute over the past 10 years, which confirmed that an increasing majority (now three of four people in the UK) “are likely to experience a will, inheritance, or probate dispute in their lifetime.”