{"id":1122,"date":"2022-09-26T16:33:55","date_gmt":"2022-09-26T23:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/probate\/?page_id=1122"},"modified":"2024-11-08T11:47:40","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T18:47:40","slug":"will-contesting","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/probate\/services\/will-contesting\/","title":{"rendered":"Arizona Will Contesting Services"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Our will contest attorneys will help you preserve your loved one\u2019s wishes<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A will contest provides an avenue to ensure your loved one\u2019s wishes are upheld in the event that their drafted will does not appear to reflect their true intentions for leaving behind their remaining assets. If a loved one\u2019s will appears to be the result of fraud, forgery or undue influence, you may have a case for a will contest.<\/p>

If you are a beneficiary and believe that there are discrepancies with a loved one\u2019s will, you should consult a skilled will contest attorney as soon as possible to secure access to your rightful inheritance. Our experienced contested wills and probate lawyers at JacksonWhite Law provide support for clients throughout Arizona seeking to initiate a will contest.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What is a Will Contest?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A will contest is an option for challenging the validity of a will and its provisions in the probate court. A last will and testament is a vital piece of estate planning, as the document lays out an individual\u2019s last wishes by specifying their desired distribution of assets to identified beneficiaries. For instance, a father may create a will that specifies that his daughter should receive his family home and his son receive his personal vehicles.<\/p>

For such a will to be valid and enforceable, though, Title 14 of Arizona law sets forth specific guidelines that all wills must follow. ARS 14-2502 requires a will to be in writing to be valid, and A.R.S. 14-2501 requires the testator to be at least 18 years old for the will to be valid. If the will does not follow all of the guidelines, it may be contested and invalidated.\u00a0<\/p>

In addition to simple clerical errors, it is also common for more complex issues to arise regarding the validity of a will being used to disperse assets. For example, you may suspect that a family member has coerced the decedent to change their will or fraudulently altered the will. In such a case, a will contest can invalidate all or parts of a will in order to ensure that a grantor\u2019s wishes are upheld by the court.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Grounds for Contesting a Will in Arizona\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Nobody can contest a will just because they believe they should receive a larger share of the inheritance. An interested party must have legitimate, legal justification for contesting a will and believing it should be invalidated. The following are the most common reasons a beneficiary may contest a will in probate court and have valid grounds to do so.<\/p>

Conflicting Wills<\/h3>

Creating a will is important, but updating a will is even more important as further assets are purchased or sold. When a will is updated, the previous version is no longer valid and cannot be used.\u00a0<\/p>

Due to this, it is important to ensure that the most current version of a will is being used to guide the estate administration process. If an individual left behind multiple estate planning documents, then a will contest can be used to clarify which one should be followed during estate administration.<\/p>

Improper Execution of the Will\u2019s Instructions<\/h3>

The purpose of a will is to give specific instructions for transferring assets to beneficiaries. When the executor releases the assets to the beneficiaries, they must follow the specific written instructions.<\/p>

For example, if a will states that a beneficiary must receive their inheritance on their 18th birthday, the executor must release the assets to the beneficiary on their 18th birthday. Suppose the executor acts improperly and decides to hold off until the beneficiary is older. In that case, the beneficiary has the right to contest the will and force the executor to transfer the assets to them.<\/p>

Lack of Testamentary Capacity<\/h3>

During the estate planning process, the grantor of a will must be of sound mind and judgment as they draft and sign their will. If the grantor was in declining health, incapacitated, or recently in a severe accident, they may not have been of legally sound mind to make decisions and understand the implications of their actions.<\/p>

If medical records or witness testimony can build a case that the grantor of a will was not of sound mind during the creation and signing of their will, it can be deemed invalid. A will contest can be used to invalidate any parts of a will that were created by a grantor who was not of sound mind at the time.<\/p>

Fraud or Forgery<\/h3>

Because the estate planning process often involves determining the outcome of valuable assets, there may be bad actors seeking to increase their access to a greater share of assets by any means necessary. As a result, the estate planning process is subject to a high risk of fraud.<\/p>

\u00a0For example, individuals may attempt to take an asset for themselves by using fraudulent methods like falsifying a document, forging the grantor\u2019s signature on an amendment to the will, creating a fake identity to add to the will, or even coercing the grantor of a will to change their will. If any interested party suspects fraud in a will through either clear or circumstantial evidence, they may contest the document in court.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Undue Influence\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Undue influence occurs when an individual takes advantage of a will\u2019s creator for the sake of their own personal gain. Acts of undue influence might include threatening to revoke care from an individual, blackmailing them, or guilting a grantor in order to influence them to include an individual in a will or provide a greater share of an inheritance.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Technical Errors<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In Arizona, a will must meet specific criteria in order to be legally recognized under the law. To be considered valid, a will must be signed in front of multiple witnesses by a grantor who is of sound mind. If any of these criteria are not met, then an interested party may be able to use a will contest in order to have a will invalidated by the court.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Who Can Contest a Will in Arizona?\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Not just anyone can contest a will in Arizona\u2014under\u00a0ARS 14-201<\/a>, the law specifies that only interested parties in the estate have grounds to contest a will. Interested parties with the right to contest a will may include beneficiaries named in the will, legal heirs with a claim to a portion of the estate, or creditors with a right to assets of the estate.<\/p>

Interested parties with standing to contest a will would include the following individuals related to the decedent:<\/p>