Dated: 2024-05-07 16:17:17
What are some grounds to challenge wills, and when is the suitable time to challenge the will.Introduction
A will can be challenged only on a valid legal ground, and by the rightful person who is the beneficiary or interested persons. Interested persons include children, heirs, spouse, parents, creditors, or any person who has a right/claim in the property.
If categorised, then they constitute as follows,
If the will is challenged, and the court is satisfied and rule the will or a part of the will to be void, and if there is a previous will, it’ll be taken into consideration or the distribution of the property will take according to the personal laws.
Even if a will is registered, but it is proved in the court that the new unregistered will is valid, then the court if it thinks appropriate may consider the new will and execute it accordingly.
Grounds for Challenging a Will
Testamentary capacity of the Adult: grounds under this are generally influence of substance while making a will, or soundness of mind, or insanity, memory loss, etc. It is the duty of the person who challenges the will to prove that, the person who made the will, while doing so was not in right state of mind, or was under influence of substance, or whatever the case maybe. Or one needs to prove that the person making the will could not understand the nature of the act and the effect of it.
Fraud and forgery: A will can be challenged on the ground that it is fraud or forged. In this case too, the duty of proving that the will was/is forged lies on the person challenging it. In order to prove that the will was forged, collect as much evidence as possible. Obtain the copies of will, and check for any sign of forgery.
Coercion: If a person makes a will under some fear or threat or undue force, then the will can be challenged on the ground that it was obtained by force (i.e. coercion). It is the duty of the person challenging it to prove that the will was obtained by force and support it with any evidence available.
Presence of New Will: If a person carries out execution of a new will in the presence of a new will then, the new one prevails. In many new wills, it is stated that the previous stands void now. This signifies how important dating of the will is. If it is proven that the newer will is valid, then the same prevails in the court over the old one.
Lack of witness Signature: Signature of the witness is also as important as the signature of the testator. So along with the signature of the testator, the will must have signature of other two witness, signifying that the will belongs to the testator. If the witness signature is note present then the same can be challenged in the court of law.
Suspicion regarding the thumb impression or signature of the testator: if there is a doubt or the evident that the fingerprint/signature is not clear then it can be challenged in court on the ground of suspicion.
Claim by family: the will can be challenged when the property has been transferred to a person who is not remotely close to the testator thereby the family members were not provided with their rightful share.
Conclusion: One needs to have a strong ground to contest a will. Moreover, it is advisable that the civil suit is filed with advise of a lawyer as soon as possible, as once the will has been executed then it is cumbersome task for all the people involved in the process.
Krishnaveni Advocate