Requirement 1: You have to qualify.
If the courts simply allowed anyone off the street to come in and challenge a Will whenever they wanted, it would be an absolute disaster. In order to challenge a will, you must first be able to prove that you have what is known as “standing.” To have standing to challenge a Will, you must be able to gain something if you win the challenge. This essentially boils down to whether you would have inherited more under a previous Will, or under the laws of intestate succession that would have governed if the Will was never written or invalid.
Requirement 2: You have to have a reason.
You can’t simply challenge a Will because you don’t like it or because you feel like it. You must be able to show the court that you have some reason to bring your challenge. In other words, you must have a reason to believe that the Will does not meet the legal requirements of your state. Otherwise, even if you have standing, you cannot win a challenge.
Requirement 3: You must act quickly.
Every state has a probate code that establishes the timeline for what happens after a person dies. Once the probate case is opened, you only have a limited amount of time in which to file a Will challenge. If you fail to act within that timeline, you cannot challenge the Will, even if you have standing and legal grounds.
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