Contesting a will; Can it be done?

A family member dies and you quickly find out the beneficiary was not who you thought it would be. So, what do you do? There are steps you can take to contest a will if proper estate planning was not done.

Do you have any legal ground to contest the will?

Here are some things you want to ask yourself if you want to contest a will's validity:

• Was the deceased person pressured into changing the will before they died
• Were they tricked – maybe told that it was a different document – into signing the will
• Was the deceased person mentally capable at the time of signing
• Was the will executed properly

Would contesting the will be ‘worth’ the money it would cost for legal representation

Maybe you don’t care about the dollar value. You just want to prove this person’s wrongdoing. Before you make that decision think about how much it would cost to go that route. Sometimes court costs could get high and if the inheritance is not substantial enough to cover that it might not be ‘worth’ the headache of going through probate court.

If abuse is suspected you might want to think about criminal charges being brought up. If you find yourself in this position call Elder Law Attorneys Cohen & Oalican, LLP; Offices Boston, Raynham and Andover Massachusetts