What Are The Circumstances For Disputing A Will?
A will is typically made in the hope that the wishes of the person making it will be followed and that his or her estate will end up in the hands of the intended beneficiaries. That is exactly what happens in most instances. However, a will can be disputed in some situations and the Court may order that the deceased person’s estate be distributed differently that he or she had directed.
Here are some circumstances under which a will can be disputed
- Interested Party
A will can only be disputed by certain people. To dispute a will, you have to be an “interested party”, which means that you would have inherited from the deceased person if there was no will or you are or were a beneficiary of the current will. However, you cannot contest a will because you believe that the distribution is unfair even if you are an interested party.
- Mental Capacity
A will can be disputed if you believe that the person making it lacked the mental capacity to do it. The best way to prove this is using a statement from a doctor that examined the person around the time of the making of the will. Medical records and witnesses who were around the person making the will at the time can also be used to back the claim.
- Undue Influence
A will can be disputed if it is believed that another person wielded undue influence over the person making the will and induced him or her to make changes to the distribution under the will. The person contesting the will under these grounds is expected to prove that the person actually exerted the undue influence on the person making the will.
A will can be disputed if it is argued that the person making it was fraudulently induced into signing it. Fraud is deemed to have occurred if the person making the will signed it without realizing that it was actually a will. It can also happen if somebody gave the person making the will wrong information that caused him or her to change the distribution in the will.
- Improper Execution
A will can also be invalidated due to improper execution. Different jurisdictions or countries have different laws that govern what actually makes a will valid. A will must be signed in the presence of independent witnesses. If the signing of the will document was not properly witnessed, it could be considered invalid.
- Testamentary Promises
In simple terms, if a person carried out a service for the deceased, and they were led to believe they would be a beneficiary of the will, but were not, then that person might have a claim.
- Family Protection
In this situation, a person can make a claim to the Court if they believe that they will did not leave them adequate financial provisions.
The Bottom Line About Disputing a Will
A will may be disputed under many different circumstances as clearly shown here. If you would like to dispute a will, you should contact a competent Auckland lawyer to dispute a will like McVeagh Fleming, immediately since you will have to file a claim with the Court within a short period of time.
If you are successful in disputing a will, the court may reinstate the prior will. If there is no prior will, the deceased person’s estate may pass under the succession laws. The other alternative would be for the court to invalidate just a portion of the will and leave the rest of it intact.