Will Contests Flashcards
Will contests
A person contests a will when they want to challenge its validity or admission to probate.
Wills can be contested only by persons who would be better off financially if the will were denied probate than they would be if the will were admitted to probate.
Ways to contest a will:
(a) age requirement
(b) testamentary intent
(c) mental capacity
(d) undue influence
(e) fraud
(f) mistake (clear vs. unclear)
Mental capacity
Requires that testator know:
(1) nature and extent of her property,
(2) persons who are the natural objects of the testator’s bounty (i.e., family members),
(3) nature of the instrument that the testator is signing, and
(4) disposition that is being made in the will.
A will can be set aside if the will is a product of an insane delusion (a false conception of reality to which the testator adheres against all evidence and, reason to the contrary).
Undue influence
Undue influence is present when the wrongdoer exerts such influence over the testator that it overcomes the testator’s free will and causes the testator to make a gift that he would otherwise not have made.
Fraud
A will or a provision in a will procured by fraud is invalid.
Fraud occurs when a testator is deceived by a misrepresentation and is thereby led to execute a will that he would not have otherwise made.
Most courts additionally require a finding that the misrepresentation was made with intent to deceive the testator and for the purpose of influencing the testamentary disposition.
Mistake
Clear mistake vs. unclear mistake: if there is an ambiguity, most states allow extrinsic evidence to clear up the ambiguity.
BUT if the words on the will are clear, most jurisdictions do not allow reformation of a will to correct a mistake.
No-contest clauses
A no-contest clause is a clause that states if someone contests the will, that person will not take under it.
UPC: clause is enforceable unless probable cause exists for challenging the will.
Most jurisdictions follow the UPC approach, but some jurisdictions find a no-contest clause invalid as a matter of public policy.
