When attempting to contest a will, there are a number of different grounds you can use. The most common grounds are lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, fraud, duress, and technical flaws. In Germany, for example, the legal requirement for a will is much stricter than in other jurisdictions. The most common way to prove that a person is not competent to make a will is to use medical records or the testimony of a witness. However, a mental illness does not necessarily mean that a person cannot make a contest will.
You can also contest a will based on the fact that the person who made the will had dementia. In this case, your chances of success are much higher if the deceased had Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. This disease typically begins early, and it gets worse over time. As a result, the person may have lost the ability to make a will. This is one of the reasons why a will contest based on lack of mental capacity is more likely to succeed.
If the person who made the will did not have an attorney, it is best to get a copy of the will and show it to the lawyer. If you are able to do this, the attorney will then help you with the process and give you an estimate of how likely you are to win. As the probate court will tell you, the court will tell you how long you have to contest the will. In some states, you may need to hire a lawyer to obtain a copy of the will for your own protection.
The second reason to contest a will is the testator’s lack of mental capacity. While dementia is a common cause of will contests, it does not have to be. For example, if the testator was not mentally competent, or was pressured to change the will, there is a higher chance that he or she did not know how to make a will. For this reason, it is best to work with a lawyer who can assess the likelihood of success and walk you through the process.
In the most common scenario, the testator’s will is invalid due to incapacity. For example, if the deceased had a disability, such as Alzheimer’s, the chances of successfully contesting the will were low. The court might have been under pressure and was unaware of the potential consequences of his actions. The person’s illness led to his incapacity to make a will.