What Is A Will Contest?

A will contest occurs during the probate process and involves a challenge to the validity of the will. To contest a will, the individual must be an interested party. Interested parties include beneficiaries under the terms of the will and any individuals who would have received an inheritance if there was no will. Will contests are expensive and emotionally difficult for everyone involved.

Wills cannot be challenged just because an interested party doesn’t like the terms of the will. Rather, evidence must be presented to prove that the will is not valid for some reason. Reasons a will could be invalidated include that the testator did not have the mental capacity to understand the terms of the will, that there was undue influence on the testator by someone, that there some kind of fraud involved in the execution, or that the will was not properly executed.