When someone has passed away, emotions are already high. But the sudden revelation of a will that is invalid and jeopardizes your inheritance takes turmoil to a new levil. If you are in this situation, knowing how to contest a will in California, enlisting the help of a premier will contest attorney is essential to defend your inheritance, achieve closure, and move past a difficult life chapter.
For years, Gokal Law Group has helped countless people fight invalid wills and preserve their family’s legacy. Learn how to challenge a will in our blog.
An Expert Guide on How to Contest a Will in California
Contesting an invalid or fraudulent will is your right as an intestate heir or the beneficiary of a prior will. It is a complex process where you first must determine if you have standing. This means the ability to contest the subject will based on your relationship the decedent and any prior testamentary documents. Then, you must file a formal petition, and/or an objection. After this, you must navigate the twists and turns of probate litigation and discovery before you have a chance to proceed to trial. Let’s get into how you can contest a will.
Related Article: An Overview of Probate Beneficiary Rights
What Are Grounds for Contesting a Will in California?
Before contesting a will in California, you must determine if you have grounds to contest it in the first place. Simply being unhappy with your inheritance is not enough. Valid grounds to challenge a will include:
- Incapacity of the grantor: If the person who made the will was not of sound mind when signing it, whether due to advanced age, disease, or the influence of alcohol or drugs, then the will is not legally valid.
- Undue influence: If someone pressured or manipulated the person who created the will into including them or giving them a larger share of their estate, the will can be determined invalid under California probate law.
- Fraud: If someone used deception or fraudulent misrepresentation that caused the person who created the will to agree to provisions that did not reflect their true wishes, or if someone outright fabricated a will or the signature on the document, you have grounds to contest it.
- The existence of a more recent will: If the person who created the will redrafted it (after remarrying, for example), then the newer document automatically supersedes all older versions, and this is the document the executor must abide by.
- Improper execution: For a will to be legally valid, the person who creates it must meet strict procedural requirements when executing the document, such as having it signed by the creator and attested to and signed by two competent witnesses. If these requirements were not met, you have grounds to contest a will.
“Each situation of undue influence and manipulation can be different and greatly depend on the evidence available. With undue influence – a family member, caretaker, or significant other – can manipulate elders as they become more vulnerable with age and health challenges. In this situation, you would have to gather evidence that demonstrates that the subject will is the product of manipulation and must be deemed invalid by the court.”
– Andrew Micaraset, Associate Will Contest Lawyer, Gokal Law Group
Related Article: What Are the Grounds for Contesting a Will in California?
Who Can Contest a Will in California?
If you do have grounds to contest a will, you also need to determine if you have the legal standing to do so. Per California probate law, you must be an “interested party” to have standing to contest a will.
Interested parties with the legal standing to challenge a will include beneficiaries, legal heirs, unpaid creditors of the decedent, those who would have received a share of the estate under intestate laws, and those named in a previous will.
Related Article: California Probate Law: Intestate Succession Order
How to Contest a Will in California
If you have determined that you have both the legal grounds and standing to challenge a will, let’s get into the process that entails. Start by finding a good lawyer. While you can file a will contest by yourself, this is generally a bad idea because of the complexity involved in the process.
Before you take legal action, under most circumstances, you wait until the will you are seeking to invalidate has been admitted into probate. Per California probate law, a written will is only considered evidence that the will exists until the court admits it to probate.
Once a petition is filed to admit the will to probate, you can work with a lawyer to file a will contest that includes the grounds for invalidating the will. The filing will be done with the county court where the deceased resided before the will was admitted.
You will likely receive a copy of the will with the initial probate filings, but if you don’t receive one, make sure to request it—obtaining a copy is crucial.
When you receive notice of the petition for probate about the will you want to contest, you will have to appear at the initial hearing and object to allowing the will into probate. You can also have your attorney appear with you and speak for you.
You will then typically have time to file a written objection and a will-contest complaint.
If a will has already been admitted to probate and ruled valid, you still have one final chance to contest it, but you must file a court petition within 120 days after admission to request that the court revoke its order admitting the will.
Your petition must also state your legal grounds for challenging the will.
Related Article: Estate FAQs: How Long Do I Have to Contest Wills and Trusts?
What Happens After You Contest a Will?
If you contest a will and go to trial, it is important to understand what to expect from the probate litigation process. Probate litigation has several stages:
- Discovery/Investigation: Discovery is the process of gathering evidence to support your claim that the will is invalid. This may include financial, medical, and estate planning records. This stage allows both sides to know the facts and gauge the strength of their case to argue the law in court.
- Mediation: The court then will encourage both parties to settle disputes outside of court and avoid trials by using mediation. If mediation is not a viable option to resolve the case, then litigation will resume.
- Expert witness depositions: Depositions are sworn statements that witnesses complete as part of discovery. In many situations, you will need to call on expert witnesses to testify in court.
- Trial preparation: Your lawyer will start organizing evidence and witness testimony into a logical and compelling narrative that supports your case. Trial preparation includes deciding what evidence to submit, organizing and preparing exhibits, preparing questions for direct and cross-examinations, drafting opening and closing statements, and much more.
- Trial: During the trial, both sides will have the opportunity to present their opening statements to explain pertinent facts, issues, and questions to the case, present their allegations of wrongdoing, share evidence and witness testimony, cross-examine witnesses, and give closing arguments to persuade the judge. A judge, not a jury, hears the majority of probate cases.
Related Article: Navigating Probate Litigation in Orange County
Is an Invalid Will Threatening Your Inheritance? Work With Premier Lawyers to Defend It.
Knowledge of how to contest a will in California is not enough to successfully navigate the process. The expertise of premier lawyers is crucial to understanding what evidence is admissible and supports your case, how to craft a compelling narrative, how to subpoena documents, records, and other items, and more for your case. You deserve justice and closure to move on from this event and return to normalcy. We can guide you to that place of healing.
Do you suspect a will is invalid? Visit our Contact Us page to schedule a free consultation and work with premier attorneys to contest it and protect your inheritance. We work on contingency, so we don’t get paid unless we succeed in court.
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