What elements or grounds should exist if someone wants to challenge a will?
April 9, 2021
Josh Laplante
Legal Moment
Legal Moment on Dave Rocks
Transcript
| [phone ringing] | |
| Receptionist: | Cohen Highley |
| Announcer: | And now the Cohen Highley Legal Moment on Dave Rocks. |
| Announcer: | I’m with Josh Laplante from Cohen Highley Lawyers. What elements or grounds should exist if someone wants to challenge a will? |
| Josh Laplante: | While there are a number of potential grounds on which a will can be contested, two stand out in my mind that come up frequently. The first is undue influence, and the 2nd is lack of capacity. |
| Announcer: | Why don’t we start with undue influence first? |
| Josh Laplante: | In this scenario, there is a belief or a suspicion that a beneficiary under the will has coerced or manipulated the testator into changing their will for that beneficiary’s benefit. The testator is put in a position where they have no choice but to change their will as directed. |
| Announcer: | And how about capacity? |
| Josh Laplante: | Will challenges based on capacity are easy to make but hard to prove. They often involve testators of advanced age or those who have mental illnesses. The challenger of the will alleges that the testator did not have the necessary mental capacity to understand the implications of their wishes when making the will. |
| Announcer: | Thanks Josh. This has been the Cohen Highley Legal Moment. |
| [Music] | |
| Singers: | Cohen Highley, we’re listening. cohenhighley.com |
