Briggs J in Nesheim v Kosa

The six-month time limit in s.4 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 exists to avoid undue delay in administering estates, to prevent the difficulties of distributions made before proceedings, to protect beneficiaries from stale claims and to spare the court from claims that should have been brought earlier; merely issuing a claim form within time without serving it does not, of itself, satisfy or stop the running of that limit.