Quite a few adults do not have wills. Those who have drafted wills generally expect their loved ones and the probate courts to uphold their wishes. Most of the time, testamentary instruments play a key role during estate administration.
However, there are scenarios in which wills become a source of conflict rather than a source of guidance for those left behind. Concerned family members and those who expected to be beneficiaries of an estate can sometimes contest or legally challenge a will. Yet, they need specific grounds if they want to ask courts to set aside testamentary instruments.
Concerns about testamentary capacity
Cognitive decline and mental health issues may lead people to wonder if a testator really understood the documents they drafted and the impact they might have on others. If concerned parties can show that an individual did not understand the documents, couldn’t recall their beneficiaries or struggled to remember the assets they owned, they may have lacked the necessary capacity to draft an estate plan.
The possibility of undue influence
Sometimes, people who have testamentary capacity make unexpected and surprising alterations to their wills later in life. In some cases, those decisions could be the result of an outside individual exerting undue influence. Caregivers and close loved ones can sometimes apply pressure to an older adult or manipulate them in the hopes of altering their estate plan. If someone with a degree of authority over the testator became the beneficiary of last-minute changes to a will, other beneficiaries may question the influence that individual exerted on the testator.
Outdated documents
In some cases, families can convince the probate courts that a will is significantly outdated. The date when someone signed the document may have been years before they finished growing their family or accumulating property. They may have omitted younger family members or key resources from the will because they never updated the document. Their ex-spouse might be their main beneficiary. In such scenarios, people may be able to challenge the will and ask the courts to set it aside.
Illegal provisions
Sometimes, testators include demands that people engage in questionable or even illegal behavior during estate administration or to access their inheritance. Other times, the testator may include terms that violate state probate statutes. When an estate plan does not fulfill legal requirements or includes illegal terms, people can potentially contest the document.
Pursuing probate litigation can help people address inaccurate or inappropriate wills. Those with concerns about the contents of an estate plan may need help analyzing the situation and planning an appropriate response, and that’s okay.