What is a Probate or Will Contest Really Like?

The goal of a good will or estate plan, is to avoid a contested probate challenge. But probate challenges can and do happen, and when they do, many times the personal representative, and the beneficiaries of the will, are not prepared for what comes next.

What’s the Goal?

Probate challenges are not heard by juries, they are heard only by a judge.

When a will is challenged, the challenging party has two choices: Either invalidate the current will, and revert to a previously executed will, if one exists, and use that one as the will that will distribute property, or else, have the entire will revoked and default to Florida’s intestate property laws (laws that apply when there is no will).

There can even be a hybrid—if only part of the will is invalidated, the assets related to that part may pass by intestate laws, while the remaining property under the still valid and unchallenged part of the will, will pass as the will dictates.

The Emotional Toll

These kinds of cases are both time consuming and emotional. Many will contests are based in the belief that the will doesn’t truly reflect what the deceased wanted to happen or meant to happen. But the problem is that the deceased is, obviously, not around to testify as to what he or she wanted.

That means that intensive evidence gathering has to happen, to try to piece together what the deceased really meant or wanted with the will. This extended evidence gathering can take time, and expense. And while it is going on, family members at odds over the will, are fighting with each other. If there are challenges to the deceased’s mental capacity at the time the will was executed, the parties may have to gather medical records, and witness testimony to show the court how mentally competent the deceased was at the time the will was executed.

Family members may take things personally; what is left to them by the deceased is, to them, an indicator of how loved or how important they were to the deceased, more than about the actual money or property. This can make probate litigation very emotionally taxing.

A Close Beneficiary

Sometimes, a beneficiary was there when the will was executed, or may have had personal knowledge of what the deceased actually wanted to happen with his or her estate. On the one hand, this can be valuable evidence—but that closeness can also lead family members to argue that the beneficiary exerted some kind of influence over the deceased, and was perhaps so close that he or she coerced the deceased.

You can minimize the cost and emotional toll by trying to get to a mediation or settlement conference. And by having an attorney by your side. Call the West Palm Beach probate lawyers at The Law Offices of Larry E. Bray today for help with any contested issues in your probate case.

Source:

metlife.com/stories/legal/contesting-a-will/