Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
Contesting the will
My uncle died in 2002. He was divorced from his estranged wife and had no children.The will names me and my sister and son as the beneficiaries.Since his death my cousin(his nephew) and uncle(his brother)are contesting the will.They are saying that this current will is fraudulent and a previous will that was made in 1999 is the real will.My uncle took them out of that will because they turned out to be ''unworthy'' people,one sued him and the other stole his money.I have not seen a copy of the will they say is the true one, how can i obtain a copy? The lawyer that made that will has been disbarrred since.Since they were taken out of the previous will are they entitled to anything now? And, in the previous will also was named his sister and brother who are now deceased. Now their children are contesting the will in the same ''lawsuit'' as the nephew and brother. Do any of these people have any rights? The new will was done in a well known lawyer's office in front of 5 witnesses and translated(my uncle spoke spanish) by a professional translator. Can you give me any advice?
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Contesting the will
Yes, the other relatives have a right to contest the will. Yes, it sounds as though the second will was properly executed. Howeverm, you should consult an attorney to best preserve your Uncle's wishes.
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Re: Contesting the will
I concur with Debra in some respects, but with additional suggestions. If the estate is large enough to bear the costs of defending the contest, be sure your attorney does extensive discovery. He could request a copy of the prior Will from the people contesting, as I am sure they refer to it in their claim. Get death certificates for all persons who predeceased your uncle. Get copies of any litigation involving the other relatives and any police reports on the theft. Maybe you want to take depositions of the persons contesting as well. Understand that if you had anything to do with the preparation of the new Will (e.g., you recommended the attorney or took your uncle to him) there is a presumption of undue influence you will have to overcome. Be sure you get affidavits from the firm which prepared the new Will and you may need them as witnesses if it goes to trial. If the estate is not large, be aware these suits can take a long time to resolve and can be very costly. The last one I was involved with had fees that ran many tens of thousands of dollars. Perhaps a settlement may be warranted. However, if you have a strong case, you may want to fight their claim.
Re: Contesting the will
Hire an attorney.
Re: Contesting the will
They are the "proper" people to contest the will since they are relatives and have an interest in the estate/last will. The new will sounds like it was properly witnessed, prepared, etc. However, what were the circumstances of your Uncles health, mental state at the time he prepared the new will. They can argue that he was mental/physical ill/weak and that he was coerced or prepared the will under duress. Who was he living with at the time of the new will? Was he being supported financially by you, etc.? Who brought him to prepare the new will? Who chose the atty? Etc. Any of these factors or combo of same can be argued to contest the will.
How much money is at stake? Is it worth it just to settle w/ these relatives? Offer them a piece of the Estate? A Will contest can be very expensive and time consuming. Make sure you have a good, experienced lawyer. Good Luck.
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