A will Challenge or will contest is a case which is taken to a probate court to test the validity of the will. The majority of will contests are taken on the grounds that the person by whom the will was made, or the testator, was not in a position to make a will or was unjustifiably influenced by another person. As it is assumed by probate courts that a will is valid if it is signed and witnessed, a will challenge may be hard to win.

A will may be challenged by only an interested party who is someone having the chance of losing or gaining something if the will is executed as written. Most commonly, it is spouses who contest wills; but it is not necessary for you to be the deceased person’s spouse or former spouse to challenge a will. A child, a parent, some other relative or even one of the creditors of the deceased person can challenge a will.

Usually, there are two categories of will challenges: either the testator did not possess the mental capacity to make the will or was unduly influenced. Sometimes, will challenge are taken on the grounds of forgery of the will or of irrational constraints on a gift like necessitating the gift receiver to stay single or change his religion. A child or spouse who is left out of the will can also take a will challenge. But these are frequently unsuccessful unless the laws of the state forbid the testator from leaving out a child or spouse. If you need legal help, please contact deceased Estate Lawyers Perth.

The proceeds of a will challenge are almost like a regular civil law case. The person wishing to challenge the will file an objection to that effect with the probate court, and the executor or personal representative of the estate must defend the will’s validity. Attorneys may be hired by both sides to deal with their cases. In the majority of states, the lawyer who defends the validity of the will may be paid out of the assets of the estate.

After hearing evidence from both sides of the challenge, the probate judge issues the decision. The possibilities are: (1) the will is entirely invalid (2) the will is partly valid and partly invalid, or (3) the will is entirely valid. If the judge strikes down the entire will or any of its parts, the estate will be disseminated under the laws of the state for the people die intestate or without a will.

Though a legal right to challenge a will be of any interested party, before challenging it the interested party who is likely to get the certain part of the estate under the will should make sure there is not a ‘no contest’ clause in the will. The clause embraces that any beneficiary who challenges the will and does not win will surrender his share of the estate.

Certain clauses of ‘no contest’ need the losing party to pay the fees and costs of the lawyers for both sides of the case. As will challenges are hard to win, any party who is likely to lose his share of the estate under ‘no contest’ clause need to weigh up cautiously whether challenging the will is worth the risk.

For more information please get in touch with Deceased Estate Lawyers Perth by phone or email.

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