Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts

Re: contesting a will

There are specific time periods for contesting Wills under Massachsuetts Law and knowledge of the specific terms of your father's will would impact any analysis of your rights. I will not deal with the issue of time periods other than to say you should seek legal advice with as much documentation as you have or can get as soon as possible. Preferably, with someone in your area.

If you and/or your brother were specifically disinherited under a Will, then you can challenge the Will for the following reasons:

1. Undue influence of fraud by someone with respect to the creation of the Will. You need to make specific allegations of influence or fraud.

2. Incapacity, your father and/or step-mother were not competent (not of sound mind) at the time they signed the Will.

3. The Will is not executed properly or is a forgery

4. There is a later Will

5. The person signing the Will did not understand he was signing his Last Will and Testament.

Unless specifically mentioned and disinherited a Child who is omitted from a Will may also challenge the Will. There are other issues such as whose Will are you going to challenge and why?

As a step-child the problem is more difficult because Chapter 191 B defines a "Child" and "Issue" descendents as:

"Child", except as modified by this paragraph, a child of a natural parent whose relationship is involved. An adopted individual is the child of the adopting parents and not of the natural parents, but an individual adopted by the spouse of a natural parent is also the child of either natural parent. An individual born out of wedlock is not the child of the father unless the individual is openly and notoriously so treated by the father. The term does not include an individual who is a stepchild, a foster child, a grandchild, or a more remote descendant.

(2) "Issue", all lineal descendants of an individual of all generations, with the status of a child at each generation being determined by the definition of child.

If there is a fraud by your Step-mother or someone else in the creation of her Will or your father's Will or he omitted you from his Will but did not disiherit you then there may be a basis to challenge the Will.

Will contests are generally expensive undertakings.