An 84-year-old left her entire $1.2M estate to one child after a last-minute change — and the other wants to fight it

详细摘要

Only around 26% of Americans have a will, even though 73% say estate planning is important. A will lets you specify what happens to your assets, making it a crucial way to take…

Only around 26% of Americans have a will, even though 73% say estate planning is important. A will lets you specify what happens to your assets, making it a crucial way to take control of your legacy.

In an ideal world, when someone takes the time to create a will, probate goes smoothly, and the chosen loved ones inherit. In the real world, that's not always what happens. A will can often be challenged or contested and, if successful, it won't be enforced. The key question is whether the challenge succeeds, and lawyers say that depends on the circumstances.

Let's say, for example, that Isla is upset because her mother Marion adjusted her will at the last minute. Marion died at 84, and she'd changed her will about two weeks before passing. The updated will left Marion's entire $1.2 million estate to Isla's sister, Piper, and Isla suspects Piper convinced Marion to change the planned split.

Now, Isla is trying to figure out what to do. She wants to know how to challenge Marion's will, but experts say things aren't that simple.

First things first. Isla can only challenge Marion's will if she has standing, or a personal stake in the case and the potential to be directly harmed by the situation.

The good news for Isla is that she likely does have standing, according to Evan H. Farr, a certified elder law attorney.

"Standing typically belongs to another child who would have inherited under an earlier version of the will or under the state's intestacy laws," Farr told Moneywise.

However, Farr warned that "the time for will contests often is short," and Isla needs to act quickly to find an attorney and start the process.

"You will need to file a contest in time in order to preserve your rights under an earlier will," he explained.

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