When you read the dailies or listen to news, you will come across instances when a person has contested a will that was written by a deceased person. Of late, there has been an increase in the number of wills being disputed.
A death in the family can turn out to be a blessing or a curse. On one side, it can make the family get closer, or make them split.
Every state and country has an act that allows a person that isn’t satisfied with what the will states to dispute it.
Why do we have more beneficiaries disputing a will?
Reasons why Will Disputes are on the Rise
Complex Families
We live in a society that has transformed the traditional family system into a more complex arrangement. You will see more second and third marriages, with the new spouse finding out that she had a co-wife after the death of the husband. Tension arises between the different family members.
When this happens, the children are allowed to make a claim, as well as the spouses, people maintained by the deceased, civil partners and more.
This is why a will is supposed to give a guideline on what happens to the estate in this case. If the will doesn’t do this, then disputes will arise.Increase in Property Value
The value of property has risen over the past few years, which means that at the moment a simple house is now worth a lot of money. The changes in the prices mean that many beneficiaries expect more from the estate than what the deceased set aside.
When the deceased left a sizeable estate behind, the beneficiaries will invest resources to make sure they receive a bigger share.
Mistakes in Preparing Your Own will
The internet has been a big blessing in many areas, but when it comes to preparing your own will, it might misguide you. Many people don’t have the time to go talk to an estate planning attorney, and end up depending on an online toolkit to come up with a will.
Big mistake!
Without the benefit of a legal brain to guide you, it might end up being a dud – and the will might not be admissible in a court of law.
Reasons to Challenge a Will
Studies show that more than 99 percent of wills go through the probate without any dispute. Courts see the will as the last communication of the deceased, and most times they follow the clauses without any issues at all.
Seeing that the deceased can’t talk or communicate in any other way than the will, the court will follow the recommendations of the will to the latter. If you decide to challenge a will, it will be ignored in full or in part. If the will is declared void, then the court will distribute the estate as if there was no will in the first instance.
Here are reasons to challenge a will.
Lack of Capacity to Write a Will
The law states that adults (18 years and above) are the only ones with the capacity to create a will. A minor is not expected to come up with a legal will, unless married or those that serves in the military (only in some states).
For the will to stand, the adult needs to have testamentary capacity. A dispute might arise that challenges the will on the basis that the person was suffering from insanity, dementia or was under the influence of a substance when preparing the will.
Fraud
You can go ahead and challenge a will by showing that it wasn’t procured the right way. If you can prove in a court of law that the will was procured by forgery, fraud or if there was some undue influence, then your dispute will be considered.
A Newer Will Exists
If the executor is basing on an outdated will to administer the estate, then a newer will can make the older one null and void. The deceased needs to have stated in the new will that the older will needs to be ignored for this to stand.
Since the court is out to fulfill the desires of the deceased, then if a newer legal will comes up, then the court will follow the newer one.
How To Know That the Will can be Disputed
Before you decide to dispute the will, it is prudent that you go ahead and talk to an estate planning lawyer to review the will. The lawyer has been on the market for long and knows what can be contested or what can’t be contested.
