How to Contest a Living Trust
The benefits of establishing a living trust include paying less tax, having a property-management strategy in the case of incapacitation, and protecting someone's financial privacy. But some family members may find themselves doubting the legitimacy of the living trust. They are not completely stuck with a living trust, though, and they have a few options for contesting its legitimacy in a court of law. The two grounds for contestation are that the executor was not capable of writing the living trust (testamentary capacity) or that someone else had "undue influence" on the writing of the trust.
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Instructions
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How to Contest a Living Trust
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Research the legal framework of your particular case. Each state will have a unique ways of defining and proving undue influence or mental capacity. It is widely held that an executor should be able to understand the consequences, risks and alternatives to his decision. That decision shouldn't be affected by someone who has power or authority over the executor that she could not reasonably resist.
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Compile your evidence. Medical evidence can often clarify testamentary capacity, and communication (letters, phone messages) might clarify "undue influence."
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Discuss with a lawyer the legal and personal consequences of contesting a living trust. Confirm that your doubts rest on a legally verifiable premise.
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Communicate your doubts about the veracity of the living trust to the probate judge. You should have a clear, well-thought-out explanation of the grounds for your contestation.
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Continue to find evidence of either problem with the living trust during the court's investigation.
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