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You had a loving relationship with your mother and she always said she would leave everything to you and your siblings, but after she died, you discover she had recently written a new will, leaving everything to her housekeeper. Is there anything you can do? If you believe a loved one’s will is not valid, you may be able to contest it. But proving a will is invalid is difficult and this process should be undertaken only if you are sure there is something wrong.
Only certain people can contest a will. For example, you can’t contest your friend’s will just because you believe she shouldn’t have left her estate to her niece. You must be an interested party. This means you would have inherited from your loved one if there was no will or you are a beneficiary of the will.
In addition, you cannot contest a will solely because you think the distribution is unfair. A will can be contested only in certain circumstances; there must be evidence that something is wrong with the will. The following are the situations in which a will may be contested:
If you want to contest a will, you should contact your attorney immediately because you will need to file a claim with the court. If you are an interested party, you should receive notice from the court that the will is being probated.
If you are successful in invalidating a will, the court may reinstate your loved one’s prior will. If there is no earlier will, the estate may pass under the state’s intestate succession laws. Another alternative is for the court to invalidate just the portion of the will that is invalid, leaving the rest intact.
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