Sometimes, the probate process moves smoothly. The testator provided clear instructions about their legacy, and everyone with an interest in the estate recognizes the validity of the documents. Other times, there may be controversy surrounding estate administration.
For example, family members may question the validity of estate planning documents because a testator had serious medical issues. In some cases, surviving family members or other concerned individuals might initiate probate litigation because they believe that an individual lacked testamentary capacity when they drafted their documents or completed their last estate planning update.
What does it mean to lack testamentary capacity?
Typically, adults have the authority to decide what happens with their most valuable assets. They can control the use of their property while they are alive and create estate planning documents describing what should happen with their resources after they die.
There is generally an assumption that most people who have achieved the age of majority have the legal right to establish an estate plan. That being said, health issues can limit an individual’s ability to make informed decisions about their circumstances.
People with serious medical conditions, including mental health disorders, dementia or brain injuries, may not have the ability to truly understand the impact that an estate plan might have on others. Typically, those claiming that an individual lacked capacity need compelling evidence to support their claims.
They have to show that the testator didn’t know what property they possessed, couldn’t name their beneficiaries or was incapable of understanding how the documents they drafted might affect their loved ones. Medical records and testimony from those who interacted with the testator around the time when they drafted their documents could help prove a lack of capacity.
What happens after a will contest?
If concerned parties can convince the probate courts that a testator lacked the legal capacity to draft documents, the probate courts can set aside the estate plan in question. In some cases, there may be a previous version of the documents that the probate courts can reference when deciding how to distribute the property of the decedent.
Other times, estate administration may need to proceed as though the testator died without any estate planning documents in place. Intestate succession laws can protect the rights of the people closest to the testator.
Speaking up regarding concerns related to the validity of estate planning documents during estate administration can potentially help to protect the true intended legacy of an individual who recently died. Probate litigation is sometimes necessary when an estate plan does not align with an individual’s long-stated wishes.