How to Contest Living Wills
Living wills are different from regular wills in that living wills are designed to handle aspects of medical care if you no longer can make medical decisions for yourself due to injury or illness. They do not distribute property or deal with your estate. Like a regular will, living wills may be contested. If you need to do this for a loved one, you have to go through a very specific series of steps in order for your contest to stand up in court.
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Instructions
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As soon as you realize that a living will is to be implemented, file a notice of appearance with the court. The notice of appearance lets the court know that you want to contest the living will.
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File a notice of objection with the court within 30 days after filing your notice of appearance. This document spells out why you are contesting the will.
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Gather any information you can to support your case. This may include data like written statements from physicians or papers from the person who filed the living will that contradict what is in the will and which are dated and notarized later than the original living will.
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Appear in court with the data that supports your case--it is acceptable to bring others with you who can testify as to the accuracy of the documents or other materials you bring, or who can otherwise support the idea that the living will should not stand legally.
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Tips & Warnings
It is helpful to hire an attorney during the process of contesting a living will, as the attorney will be knowledgeable about the specific living will statutes that apply where you live and can tell you exactly what materials the court will need to rule in your favor. Present information that is dated after the will, since the court will try to assess what the person who created the will wanted most recently.
You cannot contest a will just because you disagree with what is in it. You have to be able to prove that the will doesn't represent the wishes of the individual who created it, and that usually means proving that the will was created and signed while under distress or influence, or that the creator of the will wasn't of sound mind.
Be prepared for a strong emotional fight when you contest a living will. Contesting a regular will is hard enough, but emotions will run especially high when the person who left the living will is still living and a decision has to be made about whether to let the person die. Don't let your feelings dictate how you act in court--seeing the case through the objective eyes of a judge may help you prepare and gather better data.
