“You never really know a person until you’ve shared an inheritance with them”
That quote is from the Hays Daily News site reporting on a seminar put on by Kansas State University titled “Women in Agriculture.” The article related how the women were encouraged to get their estates and the estates of their family members in order to avoid problems after death. You can read the article here. [...]
Who Has the Burden of Proof When Contesting a Will?
In Texas the burden of proof depends on when the will contest is filed. If the will is contested before it is admitted to probate, the burden of proof is on the person who is offering the will for probate. If the will is contested after the will is admitted to probate, the burden of [...]
A Starting Point for a Will Contest is an Unnatural Disposition.
When a person is deciding whether or not to contest a will, one of the first things to look for is an unnatural disposition of the property. An unnatural disposition is one where a beneficiary of the will is not someone who most people would think of as a natural object of the testator‘s bounty. [...]
In a will contest, can you recover your attorney’s fees if they were reasonable and necessary?
The probate code provides that if you offer a will for probate in good faith and with just cause, you can recover your reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees even if you lose. In a recent will contest, the proponent offered a 2003 will for probate. The contestants contested the 2003 will and offered an older [...]
When does a minor have to file a will contest?
Texas has a two year limitations period for contesting wills. If you don’t contest a will within two years, you are barred from contesting it thereafter. As I have written before, this is true even if a forged will is admitted to probate. What happens if a minor wants to contest a will when he [...]
What influence is “undue?”
A will can be denied probate because the testator was under undue influence when the will was executed. What evidence is sufficient to prove undue influence is case specific. What may be considered by a jury as undue influence in one case may not be in another case. Undue influence implies the existence of testamentary [...]
What evidence proves an “insane delusion?”
The testator said in his will that he did not have any children. A woman claiming to be his daughter contested the will saying that the testator was operating under an insane delusion. The Austin appeals court ruled that the woman did not raise a fact issue and upheld summary judgment against her. The court [...]
Is the economy causing more contested probate cases?
There have been several artilces about the economy causing more contested probate cases. Here’s one and here’s another. I disagree that the recession is causing more cases. I have long thought that it is the changing make-up of the family that causes families to fight over family assets. In the past, mom would marry dad. [...]
Is a forged will good for something?
It can be used to determine when the statute of limitations starts running says the San Antonio Court of Appeals. A man died. A will was offered and admitted to probate. A contest was filed. The jury found the will to be a forgery. The trial court ruled that the testator died intestate. There was [...]
No contest clauses in wills.
Many wills have no contest clauses, also referred to as in terrorem clauses. These basically say that anyone who contest the will looses their inheritance under the will. Courts don’t like to enforce these forfeiture clauses if there is a reasonable way to avoid enforcement. Many courts created a good faith exception. If a contest [...]
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- In Developing Countries, Lack of Inheritance Rights for Women May Depress the Country’s Economy
- Do the Witnesses to a Will Have to Know They are Witnessing a Will?
- BBC reports that 20% of Wills in the UK May Contain Mistakes
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