Preventing Your Will From Being Contested
You’ve probably had days and been in situations where you feel like nothing’s within your control. While we can’t control everything, there are some things that we can do to prevent the worst-case scenario from happening. Drafting a will with an estate planning attorney is one such action. You can even craft your will to prevent it from being contested.
While anyone may try to take your will to court, that doesn’t mean that you can’t put things in their way to prevent them from succeeding. It can range from producing a recording of yourself to placing a no-contest clause inside your will. There are multiple steps that you can take. So, consider if one of the below options works for you.
Add a No-Contest Clause
If you want something in your will not to be contested, there’s the chance that you can outright state that the will itself cannot be contested. No-contest clauses aren’t just a dream. They’re an actual legal concept that can outright prevent anyone who contests your will from getting their share. This legal concept is nothing to laugh or joke about.
So, to be clear, if you place a no-contest clause inside your will, the party that contests your will’s validity may excommunicate themselves from inheriting anything from said will. It’s potentially a very effective way to ensure that your will shall remain intact. However, be mindful that your family might not know or realize that a no-contest clause is inside your will. At worst, one of your well-meaning family members might inadvertently forfeit their inheritance, thinking that your will wasn’t actually crafted by you. Informing your loved ones of what you do for estate planning is a must.
Double Verified
Saying that something is your will doesn’t automatically make it your will. Your word can become your will, but your word isn’t necessarily your will. Wills are kind of like marriage certificates as you need two independent witnesses to verify the legal document. So, if you’re a bit of a romantic, having the best man and woman be the ones to verify your will is a potential option. The witnesses need to sign the document and be there to act as witnesses in order for it to become valid.
While finding the witnesses might be a piece of cake, wedding cake if you’ve saved it after the wedding, you still want to have a knowledgeable estate planning lawyer. They’re there to help you work out the rough drafts. You may find that not everything that you wanted in your will needs to be inside your will in order to be passed on. Besides, they’ll come alongside you to double check and verify that everything’s legal.
To the Point
Vagueness may have aided poets and authors looking to mystify their readers, but that doesn’t mean that you should be vague in your estate planning. Wills aren’t meant to be poetic. Unless you have special conditions for a certain part of your will, you should probably keep things pretty cut and dry. If the layer you’re working has difficulty understanding what you’re saying in the will, chances are that your beneficiaries will, too.
To help you see the situation from the perspective of your beneficiaries, imagine if you were reading the will of your grandparent. Everything made logical sense to you until you stumbled upon one particular section. If this part of the will mentioned you, your spouse, your child, or your immediate family, you might be concerned. This concern could be bolstered by the grandparent no longer being able to edit their will because of external causes. In this case, no one is to blame. However, it would have been better for the grandparent to write plainly than to potentially cause you to consider contesting the will.
Backup Proof
Having a backup of your will is a wonderful concept. Make as many identical copies as you see fit. To go the extra mile, perhaps even record yourself discussing the will and your knowledge on probate law. You may even want to record your lawyer and the witnesses who signed the will, too. Any reasonable proof you can generate while you’re still able to can prove beneficial should a court case arise.
Be mindful, moreover, of the kind of backup you make. Don’t assume that every form of video or audio recording will be easy to play in the future. Try to rely on commonly used or highly reliable formats. Consult the family tech guy who might know what kind of format you should use. Be careful of relying solely on external services to host your recording as they can remove and block your content without your consent. At the very minimum, keep a copy in your possession or in the possession of a trusted loved one.
Preparing the Will
Before you try to prevent anyone from contesting your will, it might be best to start drafting at least part of your will. You can start by deciding if you want to add a no-contest clause or start by figuring out what assets you want to add to the will. Someone from the law firm of Flanders Law Firm LLC can help you answer that question.
When you call them at 612-424-0398, they can help you connect with an estate planning lawyer. Whether you have most of your estate planning figured out or you’re just taking baby steps, either way is just fine. As far as you should be concerned, you’re on a journey. Take as much time as you need to get your estate fully planned out.
Sources:
https://www.thebalance.com/tips-for-avoiding-a-will-contest-3505204
https://www.elderlawanswers.com/preventing-a-will-contest-6627
https://family.findlaw.com/marriage/legal-requirements-for-marriage-faq-s.html
https://info.legalzoom.com/prevent-someone-contesting-will-4084.html
