Will Contests

Question 1

What are Interested and Non-Interested Parties (for standing purposes)?

Answer 1

Interested Parties: Heirs and, in some states, beneficiaries of prior wills (because if the will is invalid, property would pass under the testator’s prior will)

Non-Interested Parties: Creditors, executors, and testamentary trustees are NOT INTERESTED parties

Question 2

What are the Main Grounds for Will Contests?

Answer 2

Grounds for challenge are:

1. Defective execution
2. Revocation
3. Lack of testamentary capacity
4. Lack of testamentary intent
5. Undue influence or duress
6. Fraud
7. Mistake.

Question 3

What is an Insane Delusion?

Answer 3

Insane Delusion: An insane delusion is a belief in facts that do not exist and that no rational person would believe existed. Insane delusion destroys testamentary capacity only if there is a connection (nexus) between the insane delusion and the property disposition.

• An insane delusion may invalidate an entire will or only a particular gift, because the will is set aside only to the extent that the delusion caused the testamentary disposition.

Question 4

What must be established to prove Undue Influence?

Answer 4

To establish undue influence, the contestants must establish that:

1. The influence existed and was exerted
2. The effect of the influence was to overpower the mind and free will of the testator(so that the will reflects the desires of the person exerting the influence instead of the testator); AND
3. The resulting testamentary disposition would not have been executed but for the influence (causation)

A person can hound and badger someone to make a will. Only if the influence is undue is there a problem.

Question 5

What are some pieces of circumstantial evidence that can be used to prove undue influence?

Answer 5

Direct evidence is seldom available, so the court will look at the following factors.

1. Unnatural dispositions, such as cutting out close family
2. Opportunity or access to testator
3. Confidential or fiduciary relationship between parties
4. The ability of the testator to resist
5. The beneficiary’s involvement with the drafting or execution of the will

⚠️⚠️ NOTE: None of the factors, or even all of the factors, are conclusive that undue influence existed.

Question 6

What are the requirements to establish fraud?

Answer 6

A successful contest on grounds of fraud requires that the testator have been willfully deceived as to:

1. The character or content of the instrument
2. Extrinsic facts that would induce the will or a particular disposition
3. Facts material to a disposition.

Question 7

When can a mistake be used successfully to contest a will?

Answer 7

Mistake is successfull in will contests when it is mistake in execution, NOT mistake in inducement.

Mistake in Execution (Mistake in the Factum): In the case of mistake in the execution, the testator is in error regarding the identity or contents of the instrument and thus lacks testamentary intent. Extrinsic evidence is admissible to show that a testator did not know that the instrument they were signing was a will, because the existence of testamentary intent is at issue.

Mistake in Inducement — No Relief: In the case of mistake in inducement, the testator is mistaken as to some extrinsic fact and makes their will based on that erroneous fact. If the mistake involves the reasons a testator made their will a particular way and the mistake was not fraudulently induced, the court will not normally grant relief.

• Relief might be granted, however, if the mistaken inducement appears on the face of the will.

Question 8

What is the UPC rule on Mistakes?

Answer 8

Under the UPC, a court may reform a will, even if the will is unambiguous, to conform to the testator’s intent if it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the testator’s intent and the terms of the will were affected by a mistake of fact or law.

• This includes mistakes involving both the expression of terms and inducement to make the will or any of its provisions.

Question 9

What is the Majority and Minority Rules for No-Contest Caluses?

Answer 9

No-Contest Clauses: A no-contest clause (sometimes called an in terrorem clause) is a clause in a will providing that a beneficiary forfeits their interest in the estate if they contest the will and lose. The goal is to scare a beneficiary who would get more money by intestacy into not contesting for fear of getting nothing if the contest fails

• Majority Rule — No Forfeiture If Probable Cause for Contesting Will: Under the UPC and in most states, a no-contest clause is valid and will be enforced unless the beneficiary had probable cause for bringing the contest.
• Minority Rule — No-Contest Clause Given Full Effect: Some states give a no-contest clause full effect, regardless of whether there was probable cause for challenging the will.