How to Prevent Contesting a Will
- 1). Add a no-contest clause while writing your will. In his book "Complete Guide to Wills, Estates and Trusts," Alexander Bove describes a no-contest or anticontest clause a way to discourage a court contest. Beneficiaries of such wills usually forfeit their original bequest if they decide to contest it. Make the beneficiary's inheritance one that will definitely matter if forfeited in order for this to work. Also clearly state the consequences of contesting the will.
- 2). Create an agreement with the beneficiary when creating the will. You both sign an agreement that the beneficiary will not contest the will, and you will put predetermined provision for that particular beneficiary in your will. If executed legally, these agreements are binding.
- 3). Use the living trust method of inheritance. According to Bove, a living will redirects your property, in a sense, by putting your property under the name of the trust, while you are still alive. When you die, the property in your name goes to probate. Things held by the trust go to the trust, whose trustees may well be the beneficiaries of the will. A contest can only be brought against the property held in probate.
- 4). Prove your mental and physical capacity prior to and possibly upon signing the will. Many contests are brought on the grounds that the deceased was not mentally capable of making the decisions outlined in the will. Having a witnessed will, medical exam or even professionally drafted will is enough to thwart such a contest.
- 5). Keep beneficiary input into the will-making process to a minimum. Another contest used is "undue influence." This means that a beneficiary coerced the deceased in her decisions made in the will. Create the will with professional (an attorney) input only to quell this contest.
- 6). Keep the will contents confidential to avoid undue influence contests.
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