Who Has the Right to Challenge the Validity of a Will?

When it comes to challenging wills in probate court, it’s easy to just look at the merits of the case; that is, whether or not there are legal grounds to do so, and what the chances of success might be.

But there’s a preliminary question that must first must be answered; if you’re challenging a will, do you even have a right to challenge it?

Death is Required

The first thing to remember is that nobody can contest a will, until and unless the person who made the will passes away.

That may seem unfair; imagine that you know that dad is a victim of undue influence, or that you know he is not mentally capable, and he creates a will that excludes you. It would make sense to challenge that will right now, while dad is still around. But you can’t do that; you can only challenge a will when the maker of the will has passed away.

Having Standing

You also must have standing. Standing is a legal concept that says that you have a stake in the outcome, that you stand to win or lose something from the outcome of a case.

In terms of a will, standing can be difficult sometimes. Imagine you are totally and completely left out of a will. How does a court know that had the will been perfect, and not been a product of coercion or influence or mental incapacity, that you would have been included as a beneficiary in the will?

If you would have inherited under Florida’s intestate laws had there hypothetically been no will at all (that is, you’re in the line of succession to inherit under intestate laws), you have standing to challenge a will. That generally includes all blood and adopted children and relatives.

You may also have standing, if you were included in the will as inheriting something, but you think you did not inherit enough; your presence in the will at all demonstrates your standing to challenge the will.

You also have standing if you were included in a prior will, but then left out of or excluded from a later will or an amendment to the original will.

The Catch All: Interested Parties

In fact, even if you fit into none of the above categories, if you are any person who can articulate to the court that you have some interest in the will or that you should have an interest, you have standing to challenge a will.

This usually requires that your probate attorney say, in the initial complaint or probate challenge, why you believe that you were left out of the will, and why you think that you are someone that the deceased wanted to leave something to. As the statute says, you just have to be an “interested person” who “may reasonably expect” to be affected by the will or the probate case, and if you can state these reasons, you would have standing to challenge a will in probate court.

Ask us if you have the right to challenge a will in probate court. Call the West Palm Beach probate law attorneys at The Law Offices of Larry E. Bray today for help.

Source:

law.justia.com/cases/florida/fourth-district-court-of-appeal/2013/4d12-3080.html