Sometimes people want to question the validity of a Will. There could be issues of the competancy of the person who made the Will, or questions of fraud, forgery or undue influence. These cases present special challenges, and should be handled by an attorney with experience. It is important to note that the only persons who can contest a Will are those who stand to inherit if the Will is knocked out. A Will contest is a special kind of litigation, and like other litigation the parties engage in discovery, are subjected to Court directed settlement conferences, and ultimately a trial. Will contests are usually done as jury trials. Like other kinds of litigation, Will contests CAN be settled before trial. However, each case is different.
A related type of case is when someone involved in an Estate claims that "all the money is not there", or "so and so took the money before the person died". These situations give rise to "turnover proceedings" and "contested accountings". As with will contests, these are special types of litigation. They can take a lot of work to uncover what happened to the money, and who has the legal rights to it. These cases can run into some serious legal fees, but the fact is, often there is a lot of money at stake and the person who has it isn't giving it up without a fight.
Will contests are not easy, and the person challenging the Will usually has big hurdles to overcome. That being said, if someone thinks a Will is questionable, they should evaluate their rights.
Like any other kind of case, there are two sides to these cases. Usually, both sides are well advised to be properly represented, There is too much at stake not to be.
If you have a question about a potential Will contest, or about assets in an Estate, whether you are making a claim or defending a claim, please Contact me, estate lawyer Barry Seidel, for more information about my attorney referrals.
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Estate lawyer Barry S. Seidel provides attorney referrals for clients in New York City, including Queens, Long Island, Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island, Nassau County, Suffolk County, and Westchester County.
