Probate

Other Considerations Of Probate

What happens when a will is contested? Should you get a probate lawyer to settle your relative’s estate? Find these answers here.

There are many other considerations of probate that have yet to be discussed, but that are still very important. You know now what to expect in probate court, you have learned about the variations from state to state in probate laws and codes, and you likely know very well how to avoid probate. There are only a few major points that must be addressed:

A lawyer

You may be aware of the importance of having a lawyer plan your estate, but what about having a lawyer for probate? You may actually want to consider hiring an attorney for the probate process. This is for a variety of reasons—just in case the will is contested (more on that below), or simply to make sure that all the paperwork has been taken care of. Since probate is such a long and expensive process as it is, you do not want to draw that out any longer than necessary by simply forgetting an important form or some other minor mistake. Having an attorney with you can help you keep the other considerations of probate in mind.

An objection to the will

This may or may not be expected at your probate hearing, but it can happen, and so it is the last major consideration of probate that should be brought to your attention. Many times someone, and this is often an upset relative who didn’t receive as much as they expected, will contest (object) the will. There are only a few valid reasons that could cause a will to be overturned:

• The will was not created properly;

• There was fraud; or

• The deceased person’s mental capacity made them ineligible to create a will.

The level of the above that is necessary varies from state to state, and it is ultimately left up to the judge as to whether or not the will should be overturned.

If the judge does deem that the will is invalid, there are a variety of things that can happen. The judge can just have that specific contested portion held as invalid, or he could rule the entire will invalid. If this happens, it usually falls to the state codes and laws to determine who gets what.

While these considerations of probate are not ones that will affect everyone, it is important to be aware of them just in case they do happen to you.