Your will is an important estate planning tool that ensures the disposition of your assets is appointed based on your wishes. You will choose an executor to ensure your will is seen through the probate process. However, fraud in a will can occur and can interfere with the disposition of your assets and can nullify the will altogether, which then requires the court to step in. Here is what you need to know about will fraud and contesting a will:

What Is Will Fraud?

Will fraud occurs when a person attempts to claim they are a beneficiary of a will of the deceased person. Fraud typically indicates the use of false statements from the alleged beneficiary to claim ownership to the assets of the will. Fraud also occurs prior to death if a person made a claim that they were related in some way to the person and the person subsequently adds them to their will.

What Happens When Fraud Is Suspected?

If fraud is suspected in a will, it can be contested. A judge will listen to any contest of the will in court. Those contesting the will will have to provide strong evidence that the fraud exists. Evidence can include witness testimony, depositions, interviews, and documents showing a verifiable reason why the will is fraudulent.

Who Can Contest a Will?

Anyone who is an interested party to the execution of the will may contest a will. This is a broad definition but can include any relatives of the deceased, the beneficiaries in the will, any beneficiaries who were once included in the will but later removed, estate creditors, or any trustees of the deceased.

What Happens When a Will Is Contested?

This will vary by state, but most wills can be contested prior to the discharge of the will from the probate court. If any person is interested in contesting a will, there is a limited amount of time to do so.

The contest of the will occurs during probate and is not a different legal issue. Anyone who contests a will has to provide the evidence to stall the execution of the will.

What Can Happen When a Will Is Contested?

There are a few different outcomes to a will contest. The court may find the will is valid and can continue to be enforced as written. The executor can carry out the will in its current form.

Another outcome is the will can be deemed invalid. If the probate court can locate a previous version of the deceased's will and it can be validated, the court will enforce that version of the will. If there is no will, the deceased will essentially have no will at the time of passing.

The court can also find that parts of the will are invalid. Any remaining components of the will can move forward. For more information, contact an estate attorney near you.