topic Re: contesting a will in Community Chat

contesting a will

catlover — Thu, 09 May 2019 11:06:14 GMT

have you ever contested a will?

what was the outcome?

Re: contesting a will

Cats3000 — Thu, 09 May 2019 11:17:32 GMT

Why are you asking? Are you planning to contest a Will? If you are, you need to get an attorney ASAP. Don't bother with the experiences/opinions of others. Each case is different and very complex.

Re: contesting a will

Bri369 — Thu, 09 May 2019 11:39:37 GMT

Seek the advice of a lawyer, not people here

It’s a very long, expensive process.

Re: contesting a will

software — Thu, 09 May 2019 11:43:13 GMT

I don't want to go into a lot of personal details, but I was the executor of an estate years ago & someone got a lawyer to notify me that they dispute the distribution of assets, which I determined was a precursor to a legal claim/contest. I knew the will was exactly what the person wanted, under no pressure from anyone & an excellent lawyer drew it all up & filed it following all legal guidelines.

To legally contest a will, you need a legal reason, not just an opinion. But I would like to hear from others.

I was not looking forward to the potential fight and eventually they dropped the issue.

Re: contesting a will

riley1 — Thu, 09 May 2019 11:51:43 GMT

I personally have not, however, it can be a long drawn out very expensive proposition. That is according to someone I know.

Re: contesting a will

hopi — Thu, 09 May 2019 11:53:01 GMT

What ever you do it needs to be for a good amount of money and know that you are partly correct on what has been done that it not correct. It costs to talk to a lawyer 15 minutes at a time and they charge really high rates.

Re: contesting a will

Foxxee — Thu, 09 May 2019 17:57:15 GMT

No, but if it involves you (I will assume its you for the purpose of this post), I suggest getting a lawyer, but also talk to others who have gone through it so you learn some of the experiences, pitfalls and heartaches, mistakes you don't want to make, particularly between siblings, that lawyers often don't divulge. There's much more to it than the legal process.

One suggestion...you might want to look into the mental state of the person whose will is at question when it was written...and is someone in the will who helped the person write it.

If this is a parent and you feel you were slighted, you must decide if it's worth it. The outcome is you'd win or lose, but could lose the relationship of a family member for the rest of your life even if you lost.

I've seen some outcomes where wills weren't contested, siblings and relatives no longer talk to each other.

Re: contesting a will

SahmIam — Thu, 09 May 2019 12:05:36 GMT

Any contract can be contested and will is considered a contract. That doesn't mean it's an easy thing to do or not expensive; just the opposite.

I know of 2 families who contested a will of a deceased parent. Two different situations that I'm told are very common and are often sited as the reason the will being contested.

In one case, the family had been fighting against the new spouse as they believed she was abusing/withholding care from their father. A lawyer they had never heard of had changed the will 6 months or so before the father died. End result was they won and she did jail time.

In the other situation, it involved members of my family. A cousin contested the will of her father when it was discovered he had left nothing money-wise to her. My uncle was a millionaire many times over with multiples homes, 2 jets, etc and a extremely successful business. Her older brother took over the company, the next brother received property (one of the homes) and everything else went to her mother (my aunt). She wasn't left anything because he had bought her a condo, a house and very profitable stock portfolio. That wasn't enough, however. In that case, she lost. Her brothers never spoke to her again and her mother vowed to never as well. Fast forward 20 years and my aunt, now in her early 90's, developed cancer. My cousin moved her in to her house and took care of her. When my aunt died, guess who received EVERYTHING? My cousin. Her brothers are now contesting the will.

Re: contesting a will

Sooner — Thu, 09 May 2019 12:10:25 GMT

I have never contested a will, but I will say the lawyer sometimes makes more than you get, so be careful.

Get rates established and in writing before you do anything with a lawyer. If I can help anyone not get stung, it will make me feel a little better.

And most certainly if it is a "family friend" you are dealing with. You NEVER know.

Re: contesting a will

drizzellla — Thu, 09 May 2019 12:21:10 GMT

My Dad was Executor for his Uncle's will. The Uncle had no children so his will stated that his assets were to be divided between his brothers and sisters. There were 18 siblings. A few had passed so their portion was to go to their offspring.

A Bank was the trustee of his estate. The will was 18 pages long and handwritten. The man was meticulous about everything. After he died another will appeared. It was 3 lines long, misspelled his wife's name and was witnessed by a TV repairman who happened to be in the hospital room (he was dying of cancer and only lived about another 2 months). This will left all his assets to a lady who he met on a cruise. She lived in Germany.

I think I counted 8 lawyers who were involved on our family's side. It dragged on for many years. So between the bank and all the lawyers much of the assets dwindled away. And the Judge in Orphan's Court in Philadelphia rulled in favor of the German lady that my Uncle met on a cruise. They had exchanged a few letters (my Uncle kept copies) but that was the extent of the relationship. And his letters confirmed that. She was married and was 40 years younger than him.

So be careful. There will be many laywyer fees and the Judge may not see things the same way you do.

Re: contesting a will

Carmie — Thu, 09 May 2019 13:30:49 GMT

When my well off Aunt died, she left everything ( material goods) to her only surviving sister. My older sister was executor, but she inherited nothing. She did get an executor fee.

Then it was discovered that my sister was on the bank account with my aunt and had been for over 30 years. The cash in the bank belonged to my sister. When greedy aunt found out, she wanted the cash too, so she contested the will.

She didn't make out too well, because the bank account wasn't mentioned in the will and the cash belonged to my sister way before my Aunt died.

My Aunt tried to contest the will and her lawyer sent my sister and her attorney a letter stating so. My sister's lawyer put a stop to that immediately stating that my sister did not inherit any money, so there was nothing to contest.

Re: contesting a will

catter70 — Thu, 09 May 2019 13:42:15 GMT

This has nothing to do with contesting a will, but about lawyer fees. When I was getting divorced, the lawyer came right out and said not to make it long and drawn out because in the end, he'd be the only one making any money

Re: contesting a will

Allegheny — Thu, 09 May 2019 14:19:45 GMT

I never personally experienced a will being contested, but we did have a family member place a claim against the estate. Expensive and time consuming.

Re: contesting a will

colliemom4 — Thu, 09 May 2019 14:25:01 GMT

I know someone who is doing it now. It's been over two years and nothing is settled. I've read that it's tough to win.

Re: contesting a will

chrystaltree — Thu, 09 May 2019 14:39:37 GMT

If you are considerint it, it doesn't matter what anyone else says. State laws differ and every case would be unique. Not to say the obvious, you should speak with an attorney.

Re: contesting a will

Lipstickdiva — Thu, 09 May 2019 14:43:33 GMT

I've never contested a Will but I work for a law firm and we do a ton of probate work so we've worked on estates where others have contested Wills and we've had clients contest Wills.

Here in Ohio there is a time limit within which you have to contest so if you are thinking about doing that, contact an attorney asap.

Re: contesting a will

esmerelda — Thu, 09 May 2019 14:44:48 GMT

I have never contested a will and doubt that I ever would. I would think the will was what the person who wrote it wanted. If I thought there was coercion and could prove it, I think I might contest it.

Otherwise, no. Why would I want to fight over someone's money/possessions that they didn't intend for me to have? It would look like I was greedy. Not a good look...on me or anyone.

Re: contesting a will

Lipstickdiva — Thu, 09 May 2019 14:46:48 GMT

@esmerelda wrote:
I have never contested a will and doubt that I ever would. I would think the will was what the person who wrote it wanted. If I thought there was coercion and could prove it, I think I might contest it.

Otherwise, no. Why would I want to fight over someone's money/possessions that they didn't intend for me to have? It would look like I was greedy. Not a good look...on me or anyone.

You would be surprised. Money does terrible things to some people.

Re: contesting a will

PamfromCT — Thu, 09 May 2019 14:50:50 GMT

After years of working in a law office, all I can say is good luck.

First of all, most attorneys will give someone a brief session with a potential client for no charge.

What I saw was that one would have to prove someone was of unsound mind when they made their will. Fairness or empty promises did not mean anything. Anyone is entitled to chose who will inherit when they are of sound mind.

In one case, when one elderly person wanted to change their will, a psychiatrist examined this person to determine they were of sound mind. In this case, this elderly man had been ignored by a distant relative and was fearful this relative would contest his will. When he passed, the estate went to non-relatives who had helped him and his invalid wife for many years.

But I am not an attorney, just recounting what I saw.

Re: contesting a will

hckynut — Thu, 09 May 2019 14:52:57 GMT

@catlover wrote:
have you ever contested a will?
what was the outcome?

@catlover

No, but I sat on the Jury for the very first Will that was over turned in Nebraska. Lasted 4+ days with several attorneys on both sides. That was back around 1974-75 or so. I remember the year because I was still recovering from my 1st back surgery.

The side contesting this Will had lots of evidence that the person signing the Will was coerced, and not of stable mind at the time of the signing.

hckynut