No contest clauses refer to those statements included in this address that are unchallengeable under any circumstances. Anyone who tries to go against it will be given nothing. These clauses are used for the prevention of litigation and to make the heirs act as per the will-maker’s wishes. Loughlin Law P.A assists individuals seeking legal petitions for probable cause.
Grounds for contest
The contest here refers to court pleas involving filing petitions by heirs or beneficiaries of a will. By filing such petitions, the beneficiaries would be penalized through the no contest clause. As per direct contest, the heirs plead the will or trust to be revoked and considered invalid on improper execution, fraud, mental incompetence, etc.
However, as per the new law, a no-contest clause is only enforceable if the contest is raised without probable cause. The will or trust will be properly assessed to check if there is probable cause behind the filing of court petitions by the beneficiaries, as the petitions can also lead to violation of the no contest clause.
The attorneys involved in the process analyze the documents and the applicable laws to predict the possible consequences. Court petitions involving revocation or requesting invalidation of wills and trust with “no contest clauses” are considered extremely risky. They must be handled with care and seriousness to avoid waste of time and money.
Contest
Contest refers to court pleas involving revocation in the validation of wills and trust and the challenges involved in transferring property and prosecuting claims made by creditors. The challenges include barring stated by the no contest clause.
Minimizing contests
While drafting wills and clauses, it is legally allowed to have no contest clauses for some heirs and nothing for others. If the creator of the will feels that a particular beneficiary will challenge the will’s provisions, a no-contest clause can be made explicitly for that person. To minimize contest, it is suggested to leave a larger portion of the trust amount on their part so that they have more at stake while filing a petition challenging the will. The risk of losing a lot will encourage them to reconsider their choice of filing petitions.
Another way of minimizing the contest is giving A very small amount of money to the beneficiary who is likely to challenge the will. The chances of them filing a petition will be reduced as they will not get much money anyways. However, if they still decide to file a petition, they must go through the whole litigation process and pay the charges out of their pocket. This can also prove them to reconsider their decision to file a court petition.
