Challenging a will is not something simple. Most wills challenged in court tend to hold up till the end. A will is, therefore, an important tool for anyone who wishes to plan their estate even in their absence. A will ensures that their wishes are respected in terms of who gets what from their estate, and who well their loved ones are taken care of in their absence. There are however situations where a will has been successfully contested, with varying results. The reasons for contesting need to be strong ones.
The outcome of you going to court and getting the will rendered null and void means the court then assumes the responsibility of distributing the estate among the beneficiaries. In some instances, certain parts of the will may still hold up, thus ensuring those specific wishes are respected.
There are several reasons why you may wish to contest a will. The first and common reason has to do with testamentary capacity. You automatically possess the legal right to make a will once you are an adult. You, however, lose that right if one can successfully argue your sanity, can show you suffer some medical condition to question your sanity and presence of mind such as having dementia or can show you were drunk or high when you wrote the will. Look for will dispute lawyers here for more info!
You also have grounds to contest it if you can show it was written under fraudulent circumstances. You can also if you show it is a forgery, or the person faced undue influence to have written it. The person may have been vulnerable to those manipulating them to write it.
If another will exists, such as an updated one where the executor is using an older version, you have reasons to challenge it. One can avoid such incidences by destroying an older will once they update it. It is important to also date the wills, and indicate that the new one beats the older version, and provide its details. If for some reason a copy of the older one exists out there, it will be useless. To know more about lawyers, visit this website at http://www.dictionary.com/browse/legal.
You can contest a will if you can also show there was an insufficient number of witnesses when it was written. A physical copy of a will has to be signed before two or three witnesses, depending on the region. These witnesses should also not be individuals appearing in the will.
There are even more reasons why you would contest a will. No matter the case, make sure you procure the services of an experienced Hentys Lawyers. You cannot expect any form of success in your endeavor any other way.
