Legal costs and contesting a will
The Court will not order costs to be paid out of the estate merely because the applicant is an “eligible person”. The general rule is that “costs follow the event”. An unsuccessful applicant is ordered to pay costs, and where the case is “hopeless” the unsuccessful party may be ordered to pay all the costs.Therefore, the prospect of an award of costs against an unsuccessful applicant is clearly a deterrent to unmeritorious claims.