Estate plans are created with significant care and thought. If the will or trust documents in your estate plan are contested, this can erase the significant effort and time you put into making your wishes known if the contest is successful. Even if it is not successful, it can complicate the process that you were trying to make easier for your family. If you are concerned about someone contesting your will or trust, an estate planning attorney can help you review your options.
One of these options is the creation of a no-contest clause. If beneficiaries try to lengthen the probate proceedings with bad-faith contests, a no-contest clause provides consequences. While not an option in every state, a no-contest clause can provide additional protections for your will or trust and limit the chances of family members making unsubstantiated contests of the documents.
The Effects of a Successful Will or Trust Contest
A successful contest by an interested party of your will or trust is going to void the document, and its terms will no longer be enforced. If you had prior versions of the will or trust due to updating the document throughout your life, and that document does not have the voidable issue, then that version will be used instead. In some cases, this is not very different from your intended will or trust. In other cases, it is a significant departure.
If there is no legally valid prior version of your will or trust, then your assets will be subject to intestate inheritance laws in probate court. These laws vary from state to state.
Understanding a No-Contest Clause in Your Will or Trust
A no-contest clause in a will or trust can’t actually prevent interested parties from making contests. However, it can provide some consequences. If a beneficiary contests the will or trust and is unsuccessful in proving that it is invalid, then your no-contest clause can limit or prevent their full inheritance from passing to them.
No-contest clauses are, therefore, better at preventing those who are already named in the will or trust from filing contests. If you mostly or fully disinherit someone, they have much less to lose and will likely be unaffected by a no-contest clause. Other interested parties, who are usually individuals with a financial interest in the estate, may also file contests.
Interested parties still require grounds to file a contest, and displeasure with their inheritance is not grounds, but individuals can file under grounds like undue influence or fraud, hiding their intentions.
When these frivolous contests are filed, it draws out legal proceedings, wasting the time and money of everyone involved. Many people create estate plans to help their loved ones after their death and make the process of probate or trust administration as simple as possible. These contests can often entirely negate these goals.
What the no-contest clause does is discourage your beneficiaries from filing bad faith and petty claims against the will or trust. If a beneficiary knows that failing in their contest would lose the inheritance they would earn, it may prevent them from contesting. Only beneficiaries who genuinely believe the will or trust is invalid are likely to file contests.
FAQs
Q: Are No-Contest Clauses in Trusts Enforceable?
A: No-contest clauses in trusts may be enforceable, depending on the jurisdiction the trust is under. Not all states allow or enforce no-contest clauses. If your state does enforce no-contest clauses, the clause must still be executed properly to be enforceable.
Additionally, many of these states do not enforce the no-contest clause if the individual contesting had probable cause to believe in the grounds of their contest. The help of an estate planning attorney can give you the legal information you need to craft an enforceable no-contest clause in your trust.
Q: What Does a No-Contest Clause in a Will Mean?
A: A no-contest clause in a will means that if a beneficiary contests the validity of the will and is unsuccessful, they will lose some or all of their interest in the will. A no-contest clause cannot actually prevent contests. Instead, it may prevent beneficiaries who might maliciously or frivolously contest the will based on fabricated grounds from contesting the will, causing the process of probate to become much longer and frustrating for the entire family.
Q: How Long Do You Have to Contest a Will in Missouri?
A: To contest a last will and testament in Missouri, you have six months. The six-month countdown begins either on the date the will was entered into probate court or rejected by the court or on the date that creditors were informed of the death of the deceased, whichever date occurs second.
If you do not contest the will in this time period, your contest will not be considered by the court. You must also be someone with the standing to file a contest and have the grounds on which to doubt its validity.
Q: What Is the Terrorem Clause in Kansas?
A: An in terrorem clause in Kansas is another term for a no-contest clause. It does the same thing as a no-contest clause, which means it can limit the likelihood of beneficiaries in your will contesting that will if they are not certain their contest is valid. The clause may mitigate the chances of petty contests by beneficiaries who are upset about the will.
Q: What Are the Grounds for Contesting a Will in Indiana?
A: The grounds for contesting a will in Indiana include:
- The testator was of unsound mind.
- The will was improperly executed.
- There was duress when the will was executed.
- The will was obtained through fraud.
- Any valid objection to the validity or probate of the will.
An interested party must make their contest of the will within three months of the will being admitted to probate.
Working With a Skilled Estate Planning Attorney
No-contest clauses are most helpful if you have concerns about specific beneficiaries contesting your estate planning documents to draw the process out of spite. It can be useful to discuss these concerns with an experienced estate planning attorney. They can review no-contest clauses and other legal options to prevent frivolous contests from being filed, as well as how you limit the effectiveness of these contests. Contact Stange Law Firm today to see how we can help you.
