Estate Litigation
- A Will must be in writing and must be signed at the end by the testator (the person making the Will).
- There must be a least two witnesses to the signing of the Will. The witnesses do not have to read the Will itself, but they must be able to swear that they knew that the testator was signing a Will.
- The testator must be mentally competent to make a Will; that is, have sufficient mental capacity to be aware of the property the testator owns and the people who would be the reasonable recipients of it at death. It must also be obvious that the testator executed the will (signed) voluntarily and free from undue influence by those who will inherit.
- Those contesting a Will have the burden of proving that there are grounds for believing that the testator was incompetent or under duress when executing the Will, or that proper procedure during the execution of the will was not followed; or that there is some other reason to disregard the Will's provisions.
- Other types of litigation in an Estate administration proceeding can stem from fraud, or breach of fiduciary duty, or the conversion of assets during probate or administration of the Estate.
