Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Wisconsin
My mother passed on May 18,2015 and had a joint will with my stepfather. I only have seen page 2 of the will where she signed everything over to him. I believe he used undue influence to get her to do that. How long do I have under WI law to contest this will? Also under WI law do I have any legal rights to view the entire will before he passes?
1 Answer from Attorneys
The deadline to challenge admission of a will to probate is set up by the judge in probate court, and might be roughly 30-60 days out from the first hearing. Sometimes, however, even late challenges are allowed. In litigation, your lawyer has the right to subpoena any relevant documents during the discovery process, including a complete copy of the will. As is true with many matters, the legal rights that you have are limited to those which are timely asserted by your lawyer. Without such challenges, courts often rubber stamp requests for admission of wills to probate without any review other than to make sure that the decedent's signatures, notarization, and witness signatures are in order.
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