A will is supposed to express the desires of its writer, the testator, for the inheritance of his or her estate. Similarly a trust, whether created by a will or during the person's lifetime, is supposed to be signed by the settlor (the person making the trust) of his own free rationale will. If the will or trust does not truly reflect the settlor or testator's desires it could have been obtained by undue influence. Additionally, the testator or settlor may have been mentally incapable of making the will or trust. These are the two major bases for challenging a will or a trust.

If you are a relative of, or had a special relationship with, the settlor or testator and would have inherited under a prior will, prior trust or under your state’s intestacy laws (laws that govern if a person dies without a will), you may challenge a will submitted for probate. Even if the will has been admitted to probate, it may not be too late to make a challenge. Generally, a will may be contested for up to two years after it is admitted to probate.

If a will is set aside, the estate will be distributed according to a prior will if that prior will can be admitted to probate. If there is no prior will, or if the prior will cannot be admitted to probate, the estate will be distributed to the decedent's relatives pursuant to set formulas established by the legislature under intestacy laws. For example, if a decedent dies without a valid will, he had two children survive him, and no surviving spouse, the two children will equally split the estate.

You should contact us as soon as possible after the death of the person from whom you think you are entitled to inherit (you can even contact us before the person’s death if you know there is going to be an issue). There may be significant advantages under the law to challenging a will or trust shortly after the person’s death.