Reasons to Contest a Will

If you have been left out of a will, or feel that the terms of the will are unfair to you, you may be able to contest it. In this article, we examine different reasons to contest a will and what steps you need to take if you want your inheritance changed.

Reasons to contest a will

In some cases, you may feel that the will isn’t legally valid. For example, a will requires certain processes to occur, and if they don’t then the will may be deemed invalid. Some of these processes include:

The will must be signed by the person making it, and at least two witnesses.

The will must be written in English.

The will must be in writing, not just oral (spoken).

The person making the will must sign it themselves—they can’t delegate this to someone else.

If you were a dependent of the deceased, but haven’t been adequately provided for, then you might wish to contest the will. Other factors might include:

The will is poorly drafted or written in a way that fails to cover specific details.

You believe that someone else made a misrepresentation or omission which has led to them becoming a beneficiary of the will (this is called “fraud”).

Other reasons to contest a will include being left out of the will entirely or if you feel that your inheritance should be more than outlined in the will.

If you feel the will isn’t fair, you can contest it

A will can be contested if you feel it is invalid. There are many scenarios where you can legitimately contest the will, such as:

You may feel that the person making their will didn’t have the mental capacity to make a valid decision when they wrote it.

A beneficiary may not have been properly informed about how much money or property they were going to inherit, or how much their estate was worth as a whole.

You could also contest a will if there is evidence of undue influence. This means that someone might have persuaded the person who made the will to change it in some way for personal gain or financial advantage for themselves, rather than what would benefit those who are left out of their inheritance after death.

Conclusion

If you feel that your inheritance should be in a will but it was left out, you may be able to contest it. You can also contest a will if you feel that the deceased didn’t have the mental capacity to make their own decisions or even understand what they were doing when they signed their last will and testament.

It can be tricky arguing your case against the outcomes of a will, so it helps to have competent legal guidance to help. If you require assistance contesting a will, please get in https://www.willclaim.com/free-claim-assessment/ with our team of legal experts at Will Claim Solicitors to find out how we can help you.