If you have been named as a beneficiary in a will and you are not happy about it, there are several steps you can take. If you want to contest it, you’ll need to know what you’re up against and how best to go about it.
You can follow several ways. You may be able to challenge the validity of your deceased parent’s will, which could result in the distribution of your property to others. You may also be able to challenge the terms of the will, such as by challenging whether it was executed under undue influence.
Trust & Estate litigation attorneys can lend a hand and make the whole process easier for you.
Can I contest a will?
You can challenge the validity of a will or the way it was drafted. This is called “contesting the will” and can be done either by:
● Appealing to the court handling probate proceedings, usually just one judge;
● Going to the family court and seeking an order requiring the executor or administrator to produce all documents relevant to their decision-making process, such as email correspondence.
You can contest a will if you believe that a testator’s decision was not made in the manner he or she intended. You can challenge the terms of a will, the number of assets left to each beneficiary, or the disposition of those assets. You can also draw attention to how your relative was named as an heir. For example, if you believe that your uncle should have been named instead of your cousin on the will, this could be grounds for disputing.
It’s important to note that many states have laws governing how long it takes to challenge a will after someone dies. In some states, you must wait at least six months after probate (the process by which assets are distributed) begins before challenging it. If your state doesn’t have this statute, you may be able to challenge a will sooner, but only if you can show that there was some type of error or fraud involved, such as undue influence from another person.
There are three reasons why a will is generally contested:
- The testator’s death – you can challenge the will if it’s been more than three months since the person died and there is no evidence of fraud or undue influence.
- A change in circumstances – you can challenge the will if there has been a significant change in your circumstances, such as your health, that undermines your ability to benefit from it. This may be because you were unaware of some aspect of the will or because there is evidence the testator acted under duress or undue influence.
- The law itself – you can challenge a will if it’s contrary to English law, such as if it’s invalid because of mistakes made by the testator or if it’s defective because of omissions, either because of mistake or negligence.
How hard is it to contest a will?
It’s not very hard to challenge the will. The only thing that could delay things is if there’s some property involved that needs to be transferred quickly into your name – for instance, if there’s an inheritance coming through that needs sorting out quickly. Otherwise, it should be straightforward – though bringing in legal help might make things easier!
There are three ways to contest a will easily:
- No one had the right to make it. This is called “no valid will” and happens when no one has the right to give away their property under state law, such as the person who died or their estate administrator (a person who manages an estate after someone dies).
- The testator was insane at the time of making the will and did not have the mental capacity required for making a valid will (known as “testamentary capacity”).
- The testator was under duress or undue influence at the time of making the will (known as “duress”).
In any case, probate cases can go on for over a year. We get many queries asking how long is probate in California. Though it can be over in 9 months, the average is anywhere from 10-18 months.
What to know when legally contesting a will?
If you have reason to believe that a will was made in bad faith, or if there is any other reason to dispute it, you can go to court and ask that the will be declared invalid.
But it’s important to understand how hard it is to contest a will. The process is long and difficult, and you need legal representation.
It can be quite a challenge to litigate a will, especially if you are the only beneficiary. But if you want to challenge a will, there are some things you need to know.
A will contest lawyer can help you here.
Wrapping up
For someone who has been left out of a will, it can be hard to know what to do. In most situations, you can contest the will in court and try to get your money back, but if you do that successfully, there are many other things to consider.
If someone dies without a will, their property goes through the probate process. That means the court must look at all of their assets and determine how they should be distributed among their heirs. The court may decide that one person ends up with more than another person or that none of them get anything at all.
If there’s no way to challenge a will, your best option is to ask for a new one—which is something most people never think about doing when they’re first told about their parent’s estate planning documents.
