Wills: Do You Have Grounds To Contest?
When it comes to inheritance, you will find that some individuals may seek to contest a will simply based on their belief that the property of the estate has not been distributed equitably. Although this is a good point to start with your concerns about a will, it is not the only basis that you would require to prove that the will is invalid. Instead, you would have to prove that the will was drawn up under dubious circumstances that would invalidate it. So how do you know if you have the grounds to contest a will? Below are some of the reasons why you may be able to overturn a will with legal recourse.
You can prove lack of capacity
Capacity in context to wills means the testator's mental ability to get involved in a legally binding contract. If you have chosen to contest a will based on capacity, then you are in essence claiming that the testator of the will was not in sound mind. As such, they would not have the mental acuity to comprehend what the consequences of the will would be. A person's mental capacity may be impeded for various reasons ranging from advanced age to a history of mental disorders.
The lack of mental capacity during the drawing of the will can lead to an assortment of problems such as property not being included in the will, excluding certain people from the will, inclusion of strange persons in the will and more.
You can prove there was no formality
Lack of formality means that there are legal requirements that were not followed during the drawing of the will. Some of the formalities that are pertinent to ensure the legal validity of a will include having the will in writing, ensuring that will was signed by the official testator, having witnesses (that are not beneficiaries) notarizing the will and more. It should be noted that some formalities may be excluded as long as it can be proved that the will is legally viable.
For instance, if the will was orally pledged instead of handwritten and there are witnesses that can attest to this fact, then the formality of the will being written can be overlooked. Overall, to contest a will based on formality, you would have to ensure that you can prove that the will was not legally drawn due to some reason or another. But if the will meets all the legal requirements, then these would not be adequate grounds for contestation.