Know the Risks and Rewards When You File a Will Contest

If the estate jurisdiction is Los Angeles and you are thinking of filing a will contest or lawsuit, you must first evaluate the risks and rewards of challenging the will. A will contest attorney can help you assess the variables that must exist in determining the likelihood of success of your estate case.

Here is a list of things people who probate a will should consider in the estate cases involving will contests:

1. Is there a valid written will? Just because someone may come up with a will does not make the document a valid will. Is the will typed or holographic? Are there witnesses to the will?
2. Did the decedent have capacity at the time of execution of the will?
3. Do you have access to medical records or witnesses who can testify as to the capacity of the deceased person at the time he signed the will?
4. Is there another document that can potentially revoke the will?
5. Was the decedent mistaken in a fact that would invalidate the will?
6. Was the deceased person unduly influenced by someone to create the will? Was the decedent dependent on anyone for food, medicine, and shelter at the time the will was signed or within 6 months before it?
7. Was the decedent delusional about any facts that affected his judgment in leaving assets to a certain person in the will?

Once you have determined that there are sufficient factors for challenging a will, you must predict the approximate cost of the will contest or lawsuit. Your budget may determine what you can do in court in contesting the will. Will contests often settle in mediation. You will be wise to think of a settlement in advance of filing a will contest. With ten different probate judges in Los Angeles, you can get ten different results. We urge you to mediate so you can have the last say as to the results of your case.

As you see, these are just a sample of inquiries you need to make and discuss with an estate lawyer in Los Angeles to be able to determine if your contest of the will is likely to succeed. There are also other factors to discuss in an estate consultation. To talk to us about the risks and rewards of a challenge to a will in Los Angeles, call Mina Sirkin at 818.340.4479.