Blog
The future of will disputes part 4: Challenging validity based on capacity
Kate Salter
Kate is a Senior Associate in the Dispute Resolution team with a wide range of litigation experience, and with particular expertise in Wills, Trusts and Inheritance Disputes.
Kate regularly acts for individuals in bringing and defending claims against estates, including claims for lack of capacity, want of knowledge and approval and undue influence. She also has broad experience in fraud and forgery claims and proceedings in the Court of Protection, as well as professional negligence claims relating to wills and trusts, and claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
Kate also works on a number of complex and high value commercial claims, including contractual disputes and civil fraud cases. In particular, Kate has previously acted for Rangers Football Club in its high profile disputes with Sports Direct and for Genting Casinos in the landmark Supreme Court win against Phil Ivey, as well as for Madiyar Ablyazov in his successful Court of Appeal case against JSC BTA Bank.
Kate is a member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS) and a committee member of The Contentious Trusts Association (ConTrA). She has been recommended in the Legal 500 annually since 2016, including as a Next Generation Lawyer in 2018 and a Rising Star annually since 2019. Chambers HNW 2020 ranks her as an ‘Associate to Watch’ and notes she is “developing an impressive reputation for her work on private wealth disputes”.
Areas of Experience
- Trust and Estate Disputes;
- Court of Protection disputes;
- Professional Negligence;
- Commercial and Contract Disputes; and
- Injunctions.
What clients and directories say
Kate Salter is good to work with."
Chambers and Partners, High Net Worth Guide, 2025
Kate has more experience than many other associates at her level. She is excellent."
Chambers and Partners, High Net Worth Guide, 2025
Kate Salter and Anna Metajder are extremely dedicated and on top of the detail."
The Legal 500, 2025
Kate Salter and Laura Phillips make up a great team."
The Legal 500, 2025
Kate Salter has proven to be an absolute wealth of knowledge regarding our case. Going above and beyond to help me feel supported and looked after. I really can’t speak highly enough of this firm and Kate herself. Her help has saved our home and secured our son’s legal identity. It is life changing help."
The Legal 500, 2024
She's got really good judgment."
Chambers and Partners, High Net Worth Guide 2024
She's really organised and really on top of the detail. Clients seem to love her."
Chambers and Partners, High Net Worth Guide 2024
Katherine Pymont, Kate Salter and Anna Metadjer are all so dedicated, competent, quick to react – it’s an absolute pleasure working with them."
The Legal 500, 2023
Kate Salter: clever and effective, works very hard for the client.”
Legal 500 UK 2022
building a reputation, she's good with clients and her written work is good."
Chambers and Partners, High Net Worth Guide 2021
Absolutely brilliant. She is calm, which allows for excellent tactical judgement, and she is on top of every detail and really knows her law."
The Legal 500 UK, 2021
a rising star in estates litigation, with good judgement and a commitment to getting results for her client."
The Legal 500 UK, 2021
Kate Salter is great. She works very hard, has great experience, and is a pleasure to work with"
The Legal 500 UK, 2021
super organised and very knowledgeable about estates and trusts."
Chambers and Partners High Net Worth Guide, 2020
careful and practical"
Chambers and Partners High Net Worth Guide, 2020
"building up a fantastic reputation in this field"
Legal 500 UK, 2020
recent work
Contested Probate & Trust Cases
- Acting for members of a HNW family in contested High Court and Court of Protection proceedings;
- Acting for a client in an inheritance dispute where paternity is contested;
- Acting for a minor client in challenging the will of her late father on the grounds of forgery and fraud;
- Acting for a client in a proprietary estoppel and breach of trust claim against his parents in respect of the family business;
- Advising a trustee in a dispute with two co-trustees relating to trust distributions;
- Acting for the defendant in Gupta v Gupta [2018] EWHC 1353 (Ch) in successfully defending the claim bought by his sibling that their mother’s English will was invalid on the grounds of want of knowledge and approval;
- Acting for two clients bringing claims against their deceased father’s former partner and executors of his estate, in a case involving a challenge to three wills on the grounds of lack of capacity and undue influence, alleged forgery of insurance documents, and fraud relating to lifetime financial transactions;
- Acting for an elderly claimant to recover substantial sums taken from her by her daughter in breach of trust;
- Acting for a surviving spouse in successfully settling a 1975 Act claim by a step-child in a high value estate;
- Acting for a minor in successfully settling a 1975 Act claim against the estate of his father, nearly 5 years out of time, negotiating an award equivalent to the entire value of the estate;
- Acting for an individual in defending allegations of undue influence and claims of lack of capacity and want of knowledge in respect of the high value estate of a prominent public figure;
- Acting for an individual in a professional negligence claim against solicitors in respect of his late mother’s will which was not validly executed.
Commercial cases
- Acting for Genting Casinos in successfully defending a claim by international poker player Phil Ivey, recently decided in the Casino’s favour by the Supreme Court (Ivey v Genting Casinos [2017] UKSC 67);
- Acting for the son of a Khazakh businessman in a successful High Court trial to recover over £1 million which had been frozen in a UK account, and successfully defending the High Court decision in the Court of Appeal (JSC BTA Bank v Madiyar Ablyazov [2018] EWCA Civ 1176);
- Acting for Rangers Football Club in various proceedings and contractual disputes with Sports Direct; and
- Achieving a substantial settlement for an individual in a contractual claim against a large retailer relating to an international supermodel.
PRESS
Can you contest a will made by someone suffering from dementia? (Spears, October 2021)
Who died first? When the date of death matters (part 1) | Today's Wills and Probate (August 2019)
Who died first? When the date of death matters (part 2) | Today's Wills and Probate (August 2019)
Knowledge approval claim fails because the circumstances surrounding the will were not suspicious (ePrivate Client, June 2019)
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES AND Memberships
- Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists
- The Contentious Trusts Association (Committee Member)
- London Solicitors Litigation Association
- Junior London Solicitors Litigation Association
- Law Society
- Listed as a Citywealth Leader in Contentious Trusts
- Chambers and Partners, High Net Worth Guide 2025 - Associate to watch
