With a number of ways to contest a will or estate, it is important to understand the legal principles that are involved in contesting a will. One should asses these legal principles in
regards to the laws applicable in the jurisdiction. In order to make sure you are going the right way and are taking all the requisite steps towards contesting the will just right, consulting with a lawyer is an ideal thing to do in order to save yourself further trouble.
If you live in Vancouver and are looking to contest a will, you must be aware of the certain eccentric changes made in the WESA or Wills, Estates and Succession Act. A will is generally contested to secure a valid legal claim over the estate where you might feel that you have been left less and may be that the will was not executed right.
Consulting with a lawyer will ensure you are aware of the various ways provided in law to challenge / contest a will. Estate planning and litigation discussion with an expert can save you future trouble. Below is some basic info on things should adhere to when contesting a will:
Claim within 180 days
According to WESA, a person contesting a will should bring forth their claim within 180 days of representation grant once it is issues in BC. The grant of representation must have been issues to a nominee of the will(maker) as an executor of the estate.
Not everyone can contest a will
It has been made clear by legislation the Will Variation Act and the new legislation WESA that not everyone in relation to the will maker has the right to contest the will. According to law, only a child or a spouse left behind by the deceased will-maker can apply to vary it. In order to secure the interests of the family left behind by the deceased, the court has taken it upon themselves to make sure adequate provisions for maintenance and support of the child and spouse of the will maker are looked. Apparently it is on the court’s discretion to ensure that the will be varied only if found to be appropriate to be varied.
In case there was no spouse or child left behind by the deceased, there are ways you can still contest the will for a valid legal claim that may or may not fall under the legislation. This claim other than the child or spouse can be equated with another legal basis such as the equity/trust law. Consulting an expert estate planning lawyer can help you determine the merits of your contesting.
Asset Transfer
A will maker could himself transfer the assets out of the current estate, this is generally done to avoid paying taxes or also called high probate fees. This is a proven and beneficial alternate way of transferring assets out of the estate to certain beneficiaries.
So these were some of the ways how you can contest a will. There is more to learn on this subject, for which consulting with an expert on estate planning or a will dispute lawyer can help you figure out the merits of your situation.
