HOW DO I CHALLENGE A WILL?

Uncategorized • Jan 17, 2014

Thinking about #contesting a last will?

Were you #cut out of a will? #Disinherited?

You may, or may not, be able to exercise #beneficiary rights and seek an #inheritance from someone’s #probate estate or #revocable trust.

Knowing how to #challenge the will, when it should be done, and whether you should #challenge the will are important considerations before you hire an #estate litigator, or engage in #probate litigation.

#Probate litigation is expensive, and time-consuming, and many find it anxiety-ridden and stressful. If you think you have the stomach for it, and you have the time for it, make sure you have the money for it : #estate lawyers are expensive, and #estate litigators can be more expensive. #Probate litigation is time-consuming and money draining. So be certain you’re up for the fight before you begin an #inheritance war.

Before you #challenge a will, consider these 10 points before engaging in #inheritance litigation:

1. whose idea was it to change the #will?
2. Who hired the #estate attorney to write the #will?
3. Who paid the #will lawyer?
4. Who took possession of the original will after it was supposedly signed?
5. Who got the witnesses to the will?
6. Who #inherited under prior #estate plans or a prior will?
7. Who has the original prior will?
8. Was the will signed when he or she was #competent?
9. Was the will the product of #undue influence?
10. What are my chances of winning an # will challenge?

Considering the above 10 issues when thinking about #challenging a will, or #objecting to probate, should provide you with greater focus on whether you want to engage in #inheritance litigation. You should consider the above 10 things when you interview #probate lawyers, and #probate litigation lawyers who handle #will contests.

#Challenging a will is time-consuming and very fact specific. Your likelihood of success, of winning a #probate lawsuit or #will challenge, depends upon a number of issues and facts which you may not know right now. You need to be prepared for the #probate discovery process of the #estate lawsuit.

John Pankauski, www.johnpankauski.com, is the author of The Trustee’s Book – An Individual’s Guide To Money, Misfits, Marriages, and Mismanagement, and the upcoming The $41 Trillion Inheritance War. He is an estate and trust litigator in West Palm Beach, Florida, www.pankauskilawfirm.com, and has been featured on the CBS Evening News, The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, NBC, ABC and Fox networks.