The Dowager Countess of Minto has launched a legal challenge against the provisions of her late husband’s Will after a lack of funds forced her to apply for cleaning jobs in order to earn a living.

Lady Caroline Minto, widow of the 6th Earl of Minto, is now £150,000 overdrawn and struggling to pay her household bills, claiming  that she was “cheated” out her inheritance.

The 58-year-old former model was left £100,000 following her husband’s death in 2005, however, due to a devaluation of the family's  Roxburghshire estate she received just £10,000.

Lady Minto is now locked in a legal wrangle with her stepson, the 7th Earl, claiming the remaining part of her inheritance should be paid out of £300,000 worth of items signed over to the Minto Trust by her late husband in 2001.

"I've been told I've been beaten but I haven't. It's still possible," she said. "I feel as though I can't keep going much longer, but I can't just let go."

“I have bills to pay. I go to bed at night worrying about where I will find the money to feed myself and my son. If I lost my flat I think I would lose my mind. It's all I have for my children, for the future. The only way is to fight and win.”

Unfortunately, family disputes of this sort are not confined to the aristocracy, and can be expensive to resolve if agreement is unable to be reached by consent of the parties. Another reason to ensure that expert legal advice is obtained when making a Will !