You can contest a will after someone dies, but only if you have legal standing and valid grounds recognized by law. Will contests are serious legal proceedings that require proof of specific problems with the will’s creation, execution, or the decedent’s mental state. Simply disagreeing with how someone distributed their estate isn’t enough to challenge a will successfully.
Our friends at Hirani Law handle both sides of will contests regularly, defending valid wills and challenging problematic ones. A will lawyer can evaluate whether you have legitimate grounds for a contest and explain the process, costs, and likelihood of success.
Who Has Standing To Contest
Not everyone can challenge a will. You need legal standing, which means you must be an “interested party” who would receive something if the will were invalidated or if a prior will were reinstated.
Beneficiaries named in the current will typically lack standing to contest it since they’re already receiving inheritance. Previous beneficiaries who were disinherited or received less under the new will have standing. Heirs who would inherit under intestate succession if no will existed also qualify.
Creditors, friends with no blood or legal relationship, and distant relatives with no inheritance rights generally lack standing. Courts limit contests to people with genuine financial stake in the outcome.
Valid Grounds For Challenging A Will
Simply disliking the distribution isn’t grounds for contest. State law recognizes specific circumstances that invalidate wills. Understanding these grounds helps you assess whether a challenge might succeed.
Lack Of Testamentary Capacity
The testator must understand what they’re doing when signing a will. They need to know what a will is, grasp the general nature and extent of their property, and understand who their natural heirs are.
Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, severe mental illness, or heavy medication can impair capacity. However, diminished capacity isn’t enough. The testator must have lacked the basic understanding required at the specific moment they signed the will.
Age alone doesn’t establish incapacity. Many people in their 80s and 90s possess full testamentary capacity. Medical records, witness testimony, and the will’s contents all factor into capacity determinations.
Undue Influence
Undue influence occurs when someone pressures or manipulates the testator into making a will that doesn’t reflect their true wishes. This pressure must overcome the testator’s free will, not merely suggest or persuade.
Classic undue influence cases involve caregivers who isolate elderly testators, creating dependency while manipulating them to change their wills. Family members who exert excessive control or make threats can also exercise undue influence.
According to the American Bar Association, proving undue influence requires showing opportunity, disposition to influence, unnatural provisions, and the influencer’s active procurement of the will.
Fraud
Fraud invalidates wills when someone deceives the testator about material facts. The testator might sign documents thinking they’re something else. Someone might lie about family members to turn the testator against them. Forged signatures or fabricated wills constitute fraud.
Proving fraud requires showing intentional misrepresentation, the testator’s reliance on false information, and provisions that resulted from the deception.
Improper Execution
State law requires specific formalities for valid wills. Most states require written documents signed by the testator in the presence of at least two witnesses who also sign. These witnesses generally must be disinterested parties with no inheritance stake.
Challenges based on improper execution claim the will wasn’t signed correctly, witnesses weren’t present simultaneously, or the testator didn’t actually sign the document. Technical execution defects can invalidate even well-intentioned wills.
Revocation
Later wills typically revoke earlier ones. But if someone destroys or invalidates a later will through physical destruction, fraud, or incapacity, a prior will might be reinstated.
Challenges might claim the decedent revoked the current will by destroying it, creating a newer will that can’t be found, or expressing clear intent to revoke without completing a new will.
The Contest Process And Timeline
Will contests follow strict procedural rules and tight deadlines. Most states require filing objections within a few months after the will enters probate. Missing these deadlines typically bars your contest regardless of merit.
Key procedural steps:
- File formal objection with probate court
- Serve notice on executor and beneficiaries
- Conduct discovery and gather evidence
- Participate in mediation if required
- Proceed to trial if settlement fails
- Appeal if necessary
The process often takes one to three years depending on case difficulty and court schedules. Simple execution challenges might resolve quickly. Complex undue influence cases involving extensive evidence take longer.
Evidence Required
Successfully contesting a will requires substantial evidence. Suspicions or family rumors aren’t enough. You need medical records, witness testimony, expert evaluations, and documentary proof supporting your claims.
Capacity challenges often involve medical experts reviewing records and providing opinions about the testator’s mental state. Undue influence cases require testimony from witnesses who observed interactions between the testator and influencer. Fraud claims need documentation of misrepresentations and their impact.
Video depositions of the will signing, contemporaneous notes from the attorney who drafted the will, and testimony from disinterested witnesses all carry significant weight.
No-Contest Clauses
Many wills include no-contest clauses that disinherit anyone who unsuccessfully challenges the will. These in terrorem clauses deter frivolous contests but raise difficult strategic decisions.
If you’re left something meaningful in the will, contesting means risking total disinheritance if you lose. If you’re left nothing or nominal amounts, the clause has no deterrent effect since you have nothing to lose.
Most states enforce no-contest clauses but create exceptions for challenges brought in good faith with probable cause. Some states don’t enforce these clauses at all. The effectiveness depends on your jurisdiction and the specific clause language.
Settlement Negotiations
Most will contests settle before trial. Litigation is expensive, uncertain, and emotionally draining for families. Both sides often prefer negotiated resolution over courtroom battles.
Settlement might involve adjusting distribution percentages, providing specific property to contestants, or agreeing to interpretation of ambiguous provisions. These compromises preserve more estate value than prolonged litigation that consumes assets in attorney fees and court costs.
Costs And Attorney Fees
Will contests are expensive. Attorney fees, court costs, and needed fees for accountants or medical professionals add up quickly. Contestants typically pay their own legal fees unless they win and the court awards fees from the estate.
Estate assets often fund the executor’s defense of the will, reducing what ultimately passes to beneficiaries. Prolonged contests can consume substantial portions of modest estates, leaving little for anyone.
Alternatives To Full Contest
You might have options short of formal will contest. Objecting to specific provisions, seeking will interpretation from the court, or requesting executor removal address problems without invalidating the entire will.
Mediation often resolves family disputes without expensive litigation. A neutral mediator helps parties negotiate acceptable compromises that formal contests might never achieve.
Weighing The Decision
Before contesting a will, honestly assess your chances, potential recovery, costs, and family impact. Weak cases with minimal potential recovery rarely justify litigation expenses and family strife.
Strong cases with significant assets at stake and clear evidence of problems deserve serious consideration. Sometimes pursuing a contest protects vulnerable people from exploitation or honors the true wishes of someone who was manipulated.
When To Seek Legal Guidance
Will contest decisions require prompt action due to tight filing deadlines. If you suspect problems with a will, you need immediate legal evaluation of your situation.
Time lost gathering information or deliberating might eliminate your ability to contest regardless of how valid your concerns are. Statutes of limitation don’t wait for you to feel ready.
We evaluate potential will contests from both challenger and defender perspectives. These cases require thorough evidence assessment, strategic planning, and realistic evaluation of likely outcomes. Whether you’re considering challenging a will or defending one against contest, understanding your legal position and available options helps you make informed decisions during difficult family circumstances.