Will Contests

When it comes to will challenges or estate plan contests, one issue that sometimes comes up is that of testamentary capacity. This refers to the mental capacity that a person has to make an estate plan. They need to be fully aware of the documents that they are...

Estate planning is meant to reflect a person's true wishes. However, undue influence can sometimes affect decisions about wills and trusts. Understanding what undue influence looks like is key to protecting loved ones and ensuring fairness in estate planning. Here are...

One of the reasons a will may be challenged is because someone suspects that it was forged. People may attempt to forge a will to personally benefit from the deceased’s estate. A forged will may be hard to spot, especially when people use artificial intelligence to...

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...

An estate plan provides the legal framework for managing assets during incapacitation and upon death. Some people want to ensure that no one will try to challenge their final wishes.  Therefore, they include a ‘no-contest’ clause in their will. What is a ‘no-contest’...

Being the personal representative (executor) of someone’s estate is never a job that’s free of complications. When you’re named by a loved one or close friend to be their executor, it’s because they believe you’re able to handle the job responsibly.  When the time...

Undue influence occurs when someone exerts pressure on the person making or revising a will, causing them to make unusual, even suspicious, asset dispositions or other changes. You can contest a will in Massachusetts, but proving undue influence can be challenging to...

If you are included in an estate plan as a beneficiary or an interested party, you may obtain all relevant information from the personal representative/executor. Firstly, they may notify you that you have been named in the will and it has gone to probate. ...

Probate litigation related to concerns about the validity of a will are somewhat common. The surviving family members of individuals who die sometimes take issue with the contents of a will. They may suspect fraudulent changes to the document or may believe that a...

An executor of an estate is a role given to someone by the testator to act out the testator’s last wishes and settle the estate. The executor is bound by their fiduciary duty. What this means is that the executor must always act in the best interests of the estate. ...