Reasons for Contesting a Will
When someone passes away, there is usually a will left behind that dictates how the person's assets are to be distributed. Some family members contest a will because they believe that they were treated unfairly, or they may believe that the will did not reflect the real last wishes of the person who signed the will, known as the testator. Contesting a will is difficult, and it can take a very long time to get any results.
In order to contest a will in the first place, you must either named be in the will, or have a very good reason for feeling as though you should have been in the will but were left out. It is also important to note that holding a grudge is not a valid reason for contesting a will. You must be able to prove some sort of fraud was committed in order to get a court to consider your challenge.
Other People Are Reading
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No-Contest Clause
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In some cases people will let their beneficiaries know that the will is their true last wishes by including what is called a no-contest clause. A no-contest clause basically states that if any beneficiary tries to contest the will, then that beneficiary is disinherited. It would be wise to consult with your attorney before contesting a will that has a no-contest clause in it.
Challenging the Validity
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In order for a will to be valid, it must have been signed by the deceased and legally witnessed by two people over the age of 18. The laws may vary slightly from state to state, but these are the essential outlines of a valid testament to a will. If you feel that some of these conditions were not properly followed, then it is possible to challenge the validity of a will based on the fact that it was not properly executed.
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Undue Influence
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You may feel that the will was signed by the testator under some kind of duress. This is undue influence. This means that you are contesting that the testator would not have agreed to the conditions of the will if he were not put under some sort of duress at the time he signed it. The influence could have been a physical threat of bodily harm, or the influence could be mental as in the effect a religious cult can have over the minds of some people.
Fraud in the Factum
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Many times a will is contested under the notion that the testator signed the will not completely understanding all of the terms of the will. The testator may have been misled about the conditions within the will or may have received a misleading interpretation of the legal terms within the will. This is called fraud in the factum, and using this to contest a will requires proof of the misunderstanding and proof that fraud was intentionally committed.
Forgery
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A will is considered invalid if the testator's signature can be proven to be a forgery. It is important to remember that some people create or amend their will late in their lives and their signatures may look different than they did years earlier. As people age, their signature changes, so proving a forgery could become difficult especially if there are several accepted versions of the testator's signature available from the various stages of their life.
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