QUESTION
Do I have grounds to contest the will of my step-mother?
Asked on Jun 26th, 2012 on Estate Litigation - Indiana
More details to this question:
My father died in August 2011 without a will, leaving all assets to his wife (my step-mother) and leaving all the kids with nothing. My step-mother immediately drafted a will in October 2011 leaving all assets to her brother and leaving all the children with nothing. She had no children of her own. My step-mother died in June 2012 (less than one year) after my father. My step-mother''s brother is executor of her estate & gains all assets according to the will. My step-mother was very depressed & on many narcotic medications when her will was drafted & left all the kids with nothing. Her brother whom gains all assets, is a known gambling addict. The family fears he will sell off the assets for his gambling obsession.
1 ANSWER
2 Awards
There are several reasons you can challenge a Will, and some of them are a bit intertwined. The first is lack of testamentary capacity and the second is undue influence. Lack of testamentary capacity is when the person who made the will did not have the legal capacity to do. Undue influence is when someone else has influenced the person to make a will that is not the will the person would have done on their own. Those two things go hand in hand because if a person is having any kind of mental difficulties, then they are more likely subject to undue influence. It would be particularly important if she had a will before and changed it, or if her brother found a lawyer for her and took her to the lawyer, or other facts such as that. I think you have a legitimate basis for a challenge.
Answered on Jun 26th, 2012 at 2:45 PM
Diana L. Anderson, Certified Elder Law Attorney This response is not legal advice and does not establish any form of attorney/client relationship