CONTESTING OR DEFENDING A WILL OR TRUST

A will is to express the desires of its writer, the testator, for the inheritance of his or her estate.  Similarly a trust, whether created by a will or during the person's lifetime, is to be of the settlor's (the person making the trust) own free rationale will.   If the will or trust does not truly reflect the settlor or testator's desires it could have been obtained by undue influence or the testator or settlor may have been mentally incapable of making the will.  These are the two major bases for challenging a will or a trust.

If you are a relative of the testator or settlor and would have inherited under a prior will, you may challenge a will submitted for probate.  Even if the will has been admitted to probate, it is not too late to make a challenge.   Generally, a will may be contested for up to two years after it is admitted to probate.

If a will is set aside, the estate will be distributed according to any prior will, or if there is no prior valid will, the estate will be distributed to the decedent's relatives pursuant to set statutory formulas.  For example, if a decedent dies without a valid will, he had two children survive him, and no surviving spouse, the two children will equally split the estate.