Having a loved one die without a will can be a frustrating and complicated experience for a family – especially if the deceased made certain promises to loved ones about things they wanted them to have but never got around to codifying anything.
In cases where someone dies without a will (“intestate”), their assets will be distributed according to state intestacy law to those with close familial relationships to the deceased (spouses, children, parents and siblings) depending on who has survived them.
What can create even more conflict is when multiple wills are found after someone dies. This has happened in some high-profile cases, so having access to money and estate planning professionals is no guarantee that someone will have their estate in order when they die.
What often happens in these cases is that someone puts a will in place and then decides to make some changes on their own, maybe by making a copy on which they scratch out lines or entire provisions. They may add language or change names. They may have intended to make the changes official but just never got around to it.
By not making official modifications and amendments to the document(s), especially without any witness signatures, these don’t have to be recognized as legitimate changes, even if they reflect what a person’s most current wishes were before they died. If there are two or more wills that reflect conflicting wishes and inheritances, this can easily cause intrafamily turmoil.
A probate judge needs to decide
It’s critical for families to take all versions of the will they locate to a probate judge to determine which one to treat as valid. Typically, they’ll accept the one with the most current date if it meets the state’s legal requirements.
Family members have a right to challenge that decision, predominantly for the same reasons that any will can be challenged. For example, if someone believes the changes were fraudulently made by someone else, the deceased lacked testamentary capacity when they made the changes or that someone exerted undue influence on their loved one to change their will, these can be reasons for an appellate court not to accept a document – or changes to a document – as valid.
Of course, challenging a will that has been ruled valid by a court requires evidence and strong argumentation demonstrating why it’s not valid. Seeking legal guidance under such circumstances, therefore, tends to be wise.
