Protect Your Assets by Preventing a Challenge to Your Will or Trust

Although your family members get along rather well with each other, it does not rule out the possibility of a challenge to your estate. Shutterstock

After you have made your will and established a trust for your beneficiaries, you may find that your documents are not as challenge-proof as you thought. Will and trust laws are constantly changing, so it will be a good idea to check with a will and trust lawyer to ensure they can withstand any possible challenges.

Although your family members get along rather well with each other, it does not rule out the possibility of a challenge to your estate. The occurrence will be even more likely if your assets are perceived as not distributed equally among your heirs.

Contesting a Will

Generally, contesting a will is not easy or cheap, but it is possible if there is a good reason. The reason must be more than not liking how the distribution was made. Trust&Will lists some justifications for challenging a will. They include:

• Improper signing of the document—not according to local state laws.
• Not notarized, and the law says it must be.
• More than one document in existence.
• Insufficient number of witnesses.
• The will creator was under duress or mentally incompetent when making or signing it.

Making a Will Less Contestable

It is suggested that a clause be put into the will when you make it to prevent it from being contested. That clause states that anyone contesting the will—and not succeeding—will lose all rights to their inheritance. Even though it reduces the chances of a contest of the will, it still can successfully be done. The only people who can contest the will are those named in it or have a monetary interest in the assets.