probate-law-Michigan-willOur Experienced Michigan Probate Lawyers Discuss When a Will Can Be Contested

When a loved one dies, the probate process can become more complicated and emotionally draining if you feel that you need to contest their will or if you are the personal representative of their estate and find yourself having to defend their will against a challenge. Situations like these can result in disagreements that strain relationships with family members, making the heartbreak of losing your loved one even harder. 

Our experienced Howell probate lawyers at the Estate Planning & Elder Care Firm of Michigan are here to help you if you need to dispute a will or defend its validity. Below, we explain who can contest a will in Michigan and for what reasons. 

Who Can Contest a Will in Michigan?

In Michigan, only individuals who have a legal interest in the deceased’s estate can contest a will in an unsupervised or supervised probate of an individual’s estate. Those who are allowed to challenge a will are referred to as “interested persons.” Examples include:

  • Beneficiaries of the estate, such as the deceased’s spouse and children
  • Intestate heirs
  • Other individuals who have a legal interest in the estate
  • Fiduciaries of the estate, like the personal representative

Grounds for Contesting a Will in Michigan

An interested person cannot contest a will just because they don’t like how the deceased person decided to distribute their assets or do not believe they received the inheritance they expected. A person must have valid grounds to dispute the validity of a loved one’s estate. Common reasons wills are contested in Michigan include:

Lack of Mental Capacity

One of the most common grounds for challenging the validity of a will is a belief that the person executing the will, referred to as the testator, did not have the mental capacity to do so. Family members or other interested parties may dispute the deceased’s mental capacity if they had Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, a drug or alcohol problem, or a mental health condition that affected their mental capacities before their death.

Under Mich. Comp Laws § 700.2501, an individual is considered to have the mental capacity sufficient to sign a will if they are 18 years old or older and meet all of the following conditions:

  • They have the ability to understand that they are providing for the distribution of their assets after they die.
  • They understand the nature and extent of the property they own.
  • They understand the extent and nature of their bounty, which refers to their closest family members and other potential beneficiaries.
  • They understand the general nature of and effect of signing their will.
  • Improper Execution of the Will

A will can also be contested if it is not executed correctly. In Michigan, an individual must sign their will in front of two witnesses and a notary public. If this did not happen, their will could be contested.  

Undue Influence

Another common reason for contesting a will is claiming that someone exerted undue influence over the testator, who is often elderly, convincing them to sign a will that is not consistent with their wishes. The individual exerting the undue influence would be someone benefiting from the will.

The individual alleged to have exerted undue influence is often a close family member or someone in a position of trust with the testator, such as a caregiver. They may have isolated the testator from family members before the execution of the will or engaged in scare tactics like threats of violence or physical abuse.

Fraud

Fraud can be grounds for contesting a will if the testator was tricked into signing a will. The testator could believe that they were signing a document other than a will or that the will they signed contained provisions different from those in the legal document.

Forgery

Forgery is also grounds for contesting a will. Forgery occurs if someone falsely creates a will under the testator’s name, forges the testator’s signature, or forges the signatures of the witnesses. A handwriting expert would need to be hired to prove that a will is invalid based on forgery.

How Our Howell Probate Lawyers Can Help

If you are considering challenging the validity of a loved one’s will, our experienced probate attorneys can advise you whether you have grounds to contest the will. We can explain your options and collect the evidence you need to prove the will’s invalidity. If you are the personal representative of a family member’s estate, we can also help you defend against a claim that your loved one’s will is invalid and aggressively protect your rights.

Regardless of the situation you are facing, our Livingston and Macomb County legal team will help you through every step of probating your family member’s estate so that their wishes are honored, and you and their other heirs are provided for as they want.