I survived last week at sleep-away camp with my 5th grader despite several kids and parents leaving sick, then my own kid getting sick when we got back, and then me getting sick to round out the week!

Even with all of that, though, I’d do it all over again. Maybe just once… but I would. 🙂

Okay, let’s talk about how to contest a Will.

I haven’t talked about this topic in quite some time, and it’s something people often worry about, so I thought we’d revisit it.

Let’s start with why you CANNOT contest a Will.

1. You think it’s unfair.
2. The Will says one thing and the person “promised” you another.
3. You disagree with how the person distributed their assets.

The Will controls. It is presumed to provide the distributions directions of the person who has died. Whether or not anyone agrees with them is moot. People have the ability to distribute their assets how they see fit.

End of story.

Well, this is the end of the story. What people say and what they actually mean/do are not the same. The law believes if someone wanted to give someone something they would update their estate plan to reflect that.

So, if someone is telling you something, it isn’t true until it’s in the Will (or trust).

With all of that being said, that doesn’t mean there are no means to contest a Will.

There are in fact 3:

1. The documents were not executed properly (most of the time this centers around witness signatures);
2. The documents were signed without the capacity to understand what they were;
3. The documents were signed under duress (i.e. someone pointing a gun at you or someone withholding food until you sign).

Contesting a Will is really difficult and really expensive (and those contesting usually have to pay up front). This is why you don’t see many Will contests.

If you are worried about someone contesting your Will, the best thing to do is get a pro to help you put it together. They will ensure the formalities are correct and make it much less likely the argument for lack of capacity or duress are present.

So, if you’re worried about someone contesting your Will, hopefully you’re now worrying less.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Christopher Small
Owner
CMS Law Firm LLC

PS – we love referrals. If you know someone that could use our help, let them know about us!