In order to contest a will on the grounds of lack of due-execution, strong evidence is required or the court will revert to the application of the presumption.
But sometimes things go wrong, a probate dispute does arise, and someone wants to challenge the will. In Georgia, this legal challenge is called a will caveat. It is the documentation that you file in probate court when you are disputing a will.
Yes, if you ultimately succeed in proving that the will is invalid, then a will can be overturned after probate. But contesting a will at this stage is complicated, and you risk incurring expensive legal costs if the court finds in favour of the executors.
They may decide to remove an executor from a Will or appoint a new one. They may decide to declare the current Will invalid in favour of an earlier one. They may decide to declare a Will invalid and rule that the estate should be distributed on the basis of the intestacy rules.
The estimated cost of contesting a will in Georgia can be anywhere from $10,000 through $50,000, which is conservative. A contested will case can take up to two years or longer if the case ends in a trial. It is up to you to decide if the estate justifies the expense.
four yearsBecause no notice is required, Georgia law gives interested parties four years rom the date the will is admitted to probate in common form to file an objection. Exception: A person who is a minor at the time the will is probated has four years after they reach age 18 to object.
It's best to contest a Will before Probate has been granted simply because the administration of the Will and distribution of assets has not yet properly begun. If you feel strongly that the Will is invalid, then you can lodge something called a 'caveat' with the Probate Registry (Court).
For a claim of undue influence to succeed, it must be proven that the person making the will acted against their own volition. The burden of evidence is high. The court will need to be satisfied that there is no other reasonable explanation for the testator's actions other than that coercion was applied.
The Court set out the following criteria for proving undue influence:The facts are inconsistent with any other hypothesis;Undue influence means influence exercised by coercion (the deceased's own discretion and judgment is overborne) or fraud;More items...•
In general, the executor of a will is the person who is typically responsible for defending a contested will.
A family member can challenge a will on the grounds that they were not provided for adequately in the will. The law states that the head of a family is responsible for the proper maintenance of certain close family members who are specified in the Hindu Succession Act.
failing to take account of all the money and property available. failing to take account of the possibility that a beneficiary may die before the person making the will. changing the will. If these alterations are not signed and witnessed, they are invalid.