There are reasons for a Last Will and Testament to be contested and one is the mental capacity of the client.
The best way to avoid a Last Will and Testament contest, is to have a well-written Last Will and Testament prepared by a qualified estate planning attorney, who can help avoid legal contests. It is also important the client be of sound mind and body. However, there are times when this is not the case and a challenge may occur, according to The Huntsville Item in “Legal Corner: Last Will and Testament contests while rare are messy.”
A Last Will and Testament is contested, when the person challenging the Last Will and Testament believes that it does not represent the true intent of the creator to pass the estate to the people he wanted.
A will must be written in the correct form and executed according to the law in order to be valid. This is why it is necessary to work with an estate planning attorney to create a Last Will and Testament. A person may try to do it on their own, typing it out, downloading a form or copying a form, but because the law is very strict about the form and execution, many of these do-it-yourself Last Will and Testaments end up being deemed invalid by the courts.
When the Last Will and Testament is not valid, the laws of intestate are applied to the person’s estate. This is rarely in accordance with the person’s wishes, but at this point, it’s too late.
To make a Last Will and Testament, the person must have “testamentary capacity.” That means that he or she knows what they are doing, what their estate includes and who the recipients of the estate will be. They also must not have been subject to undue influence. That means that the person making the Last Will and Testament is so controlled and dominated by another person, that they were not able to make the Last Will and Testament that they wanted.
When the sad day comes that a loved one passes, the family grieves. Each member will deal with the loss in their own way. For some people, the intense level of emotions can bring about conflicts. Sometimes these are the result of old battles that were never resolved. Sibling rivalry that’s been simmering for decades can emerge.
One of the goals of a properly prepared Last Will and Testament, is to prevent any family fights after a loved one has passed.
Studies have found that the struggle over mom’s necklace or dad’s watch are not about the material items themselves, but over the symbolic meaning of those items. When families fight over inheritances, it’s rarely because of the actual item or even the money.
As the family’s older member, you want to do anything you can to avoid fracturing the family after you’ve gone.
Unless you take the steps to create a Last Will and Testament and a strong estate plan, your loved ones could be entrenched in a long inheritance conflict that lasts years and consumes more resources than anyone can spare. However, with careful planning, you can avoid inheritance conflicts. After all, estate planning is more for those you love than for you.
An estate planning attorney can advise you on creating an estate plan that fits your unique circumstances.