The caveat is the doorstop of contested probate: a notice lodged in the Probate Office requiring that no grant issue in the estate without notice to the caveator. It costs little, it is quickly lodged, and it converts a family's private unease into a formal position, which is precisely why it should be used deliberately rather than reflexively.
The mechanics
Once lodged, a caveat halts any grant. The party seeking to prove the will responds with a warning, requiring the caveator to enter an appearance stating their interest and grounds; an appearance joins the issue and pushes the dispute towards a probate action, while failure to appear lets the caveat lapse and the grant proceed. Caveats have a limited lifespan and must be renewed to be maintained. The sequence is short, formal and unforgiving of drift: a caveat is the opening move of a case, and it should be lodged with the next three moves already planned.
When a caveat is right
The proper occasions are defined: genuine grounds to question the will, capacity, influence, execution, needing time and discovery to investigate; a dispute over who should administer, particularly on intestacy; or protection of a claimed interest that a grant would prejudice. In each, the caveat buys the one thing that matters, position, because challenging a will before probate is procedurally far stronger than seeking revocation after a grant has issued and assets have begun to move.
When it is wrong, and what it costs
A caveat is not a lever for grievances that have a different remedy: a section 117 claim needs no caveat and is not advanced by one, and delay to an estate out of spite or negotiation theatre exposes the caveator to costs when the caveat is set aside. The costs discipline runs in both directions, warned caveators who appear without stateable grounds meet it, and estates that bulldoze a reasonable caveat rather than engaging with its grounds spend more than the engagement would have cost. Early advice, before lodging or before warning, is the cheap step in every version of this procedure.
This article is general information, not legal advice. For the full practice area, see Contested Wills and Probate Litigation, or contact the practice to discuss a matter in confidence.