Those of us at the coalface of probate disputes welcome any authoritative addition to what is a heavily nuanced area of practice. Nasreen Pearce’s work fits this description and provides a commanding canter through the main issues involved and procedures applicable.

While some of the areas covered, namely those surrounding the essential validity of a will and typical heads of claim in challenging a will, are very well documented elsewhere, issues such as ‘burial disputes’ are less resourced and the work’s broad coverage of this issue is of considerable utility.

While such disputes, thankfully, are still quite rare – certainly on my desk – and perhaps sound quite ghoulish to the non-private client practitioner, it is useful to have a reliable point of reference as and when they arise. For such disputes are typically pressing and highly charged emotionally.

The work is of a reasonable length and the information therein readily accessible and relatively practitioner-friendly.

The author could not possibly provide a comprehensive narrative of the practice and procedure in all the areas covered, but she does point the reader in the right direction of travel, supplemented by relevant legislation and case law throughout. I have no doubt that practitioners will find this book very helpful.

Andrew Kidd is a partner at Clintons

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