Newport Beach Will Contest Lawyer

A last will and testament provides an opportunity for the will creator to determine what their legacy will be. Wills can be used to ensure that the right people receive inherited funds and to provide other important instructions for loved ones after a death.

Unfortunately, sometimes questions arise about the validity of a will. These are difficult cases, because a lot is at stake — including ensuring the true intent of the deceased is honored.

In these situations, it’s critical that those involved in a will contest have the right legal professional both to represent their interest and to maximize the chances of the outcome the deceased would have wanted.

Finding a compassionate and knowledgeable lawyer is vital in these difficult situations, and the Newport Beach estate litigation lawyers at Albertson & Davidson are the team that you should turn to.

Our team has extensive litigation experience and has helped thousands of clients throughout Newport Beach, including in Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Corona del Mar, and throughout the Newport Coast. To find out more about how we can represent you when a conflict over a will arises, give us a call today at (858) 209-2309.

How a Newport Beach Will Contest Lawyer Can Help You

Whether you are in a position where you are contesting a will or defending one, the stakes are very high. There may be a lot of money or property that was left behind in the estate, and the outcome of the will contest will determine what happens to it. Likewise, the outcome will determine if the true wishes of your deceased loved one are respected or not.

You need the right legal representative to advocate for you throughout this process. A Newport Beach will contest lawyer at Albertson & Davidson can provide the help and support that you need throughout your claim. Our legal team can:

Gather evidence supporting your position on the validity of the will. This may include statements from witnesses, copies of other documents, medical records, prior versions of the will, recorded or written statements from the deceased, forensic evidence such as ink and handwriting analysis, and expert testimony.
Identify the correct legal arguments to make. For example, you may need to decide whether you want to argue that undue influence or duress was involved in a will being created that does not accurately reflect the wishes of the deceased. We’ll help you to determine which legal arguments are strongest and best supported by evidence.
Litigating in court. We can file all of the required court paperwork for you by the deadlines, and our firm has extensive experience representing clients in will contest cases in the courtroom, so we understand how to present evidence and arguments in a compelling, informative manner that maximizes your chances of a verdict in your favor.
Determining the likelihood of a successful outcome. When you contest a will, there may be a risk that you will lose access to your inheritance if there is a no-contest clause included in the document. You don’t want to take a chance on a case likely to be unsuccessful in the end, so our firm will help you to evaluate the strength of your claim to determine if you should move forward with raising a challenge to the will..

These are just some of the many ways in which our firm can help you through the process. We represent those contesting a will, as well as those defending wills that they believe to be valid and enforceable.

Who Can Contest a Will?

Contesting a will means going to court during the probate process and claiming that a will should be declared invalid or should not be enforced as written. Not everyone has the legal right to contest a will. Those who can include:

Legal heirs, or those who would stand to inherit under state intestacy laws if the will were not in place to govern the distribution of assets.
Beneficiaries who are named in the current will. All those who stand to inherit based on the will as written have the right to contest its terms.

At Albertson & Davidson, a trust litigation lawyer in Newport Beach will carefully review your situation to determine if you have the legal right to go to court and raise issues with a will during probate.

Reasons to Contest a Will

Even if you have standing to contest a will, that does not necessarily mean that you can challenge the document in court successfully. You also must have reasons, or grounds, to contest the will. This could include:

Unsound mind: The will’s creator was not mentally sound at the time the will was made.
Undue influence: Someone improperly influenced the drafter of the will when the document was created.
Duress: The deceased was being threatened in some way when they made the will. This includes situations when they were wrongfully confined, unlawfully detained, or otherwise subject to intimidation.
Mistakes: Sometimes, simple errors are made, like the deceased not using the correct description of assets or forgetting to list a name.
Fraud: This can occur when someone tries to pass off a fake will as a real one.
Revocation: If the deceased revoked a will or created a more recent document that supersedes it, the revoked will should not control what happens to the deceased person’s assets.
Failure to follow requirements: If the document created doesn’t follow the requirements for a valid will, it may not be enforceable.

If you want to contest a will on these or other grounds, you are going to have to prove that these problems exist. The executor or other heirs can also defend the will and provide proof that these issues are not relevant or should not result in a will being invalidated.

Getting Help from a Newport Beach Will Contest Lawyer

At Albertson & Davidson, we know that you are going through a difficult time with the death of your loved one and coping with the questions about whether their will is a valid one. We will treat your case with the sensitivity it deserves while fighting hard for your rights.

Give us a call today at (858) 209-2309 or contact us online to schedule a consultation and learn more about how we can help you.