A will dispute advice one’s death is stressful enough, but family dissension over a will can make things worse. A will contest is a legal process that challenges a deceased person’s last will and testament in court to alter the distribution of their assets or invalidate the will altogether. If you’re a beneficiary of a deceased person’s will and believe it should be contested, you may need to seek legal advice from an experienced estate planning attorney.

To successfully challenge a will, you must first have legal standing to do so, which means that you need a financial interest in the outcome of the estate distribution that the will dictates. The specific rules on who has standing to file a will dispute vary by state, so you should consult an estate planning or probate attorney for precise details.

Trusted Will Lawyers: Choosing the Best Support for Your Case

Once you have legal standing, it’s important to clearly define the grounds on which you are contesting the will. Some common grounds for a will contest include lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, fraud, improper execution or the existence of a more recent will. You’ll need to provide evidence supporting your claim, such as letters, emails or text messages stating the deceased’s wishes regarding specific provisions in the will, oral testimony from witnesses who witnessed the decedent signing the will, and a handwriting expert who can verify that the signature on the will is not a forgery.

A successful will contest doesn’t guarantee that you’ll inherit anything, but it can help you to get the estate distribution you want. Even so, contesting a will is a complicated and time-consuming matter, so you should get legal advice before taking any action.

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