Contested Wills in Roswell, New Mexico

Find the right Contested Wills attorney in Roswell, NM

It is permitted, in Roswell, New Mexico, to go to court and claim that a will is invalid, in some cases. This is called a Will Contest.

Occasionally, testators leave out of their wills people who might naturally expect to inherit a considerable portion of the testator's estate (spouses and children, for instance). This might lead them to assume, truthfully or not, that the will was some kind of mistake.

If the decedent was fairly well-off, their will might involve a great deal of money or property. This is one of the general reasons, besides a general sense of exclusion, that a family member might expend the great deal of time and money necessary to contest a will.

Nonetheless, this is a matter that should not be approached lightly - will contests can commonly foster strife and infighting within families who are already mourning the loss of a loved one. This can permanently damage or alter family relationships.

When Can a Will be Contested in Roswell, New Mexico?

Courts in Roswell, New Mexico will not let a person contest a will unless they have an excellent reason. There are, nonetheless, some allegations which will always invalidate a will, if they are proven.

To be valid, a will must be a product of the testator's own free will. So, a will that the testator was forced or tricked into making is not valid, if the probate court finds out about the duress or trickery. Of course, wills are usually made many years before a person dies, so how can a person expect to prove duress or fraud if they suspect it? To begin with, it's not easy. It is possible, however. First of all, it's good to have as much documentation of the testator's affairs as possible. Any written statements concerning their desires on this matter will also be very useful, if there are any. Further, if the suspect gift is totally out of left field (property is left to someone that you know the testator didn't like, or barely knew, for instance), this might also support your position that the will was invalid. Of course, the testator can leave his or her money to whomever they want, so these facts, by themselves, will not be enough to prove fraud or duress.

A will can also be denied because the decedent was not mentally competent to draft it at the it was made. A court will look at the person's mental capacity at the time the will was made, so even if the testator is now perfectly sane, if he or she was incapacitated for whatever reason (by way of intoxication, for instance) at the time the will was made, the will can still be invalidated.

If you successfully contest the will in Roswell, New Mexico, the court will likely distribute the property as if the decedent had died without a will. This usually involves giving it to the closest living relative. While the exact intestacy schemes (the order in which property is distributed to relatives) vary from state to state, they are usually pretty similar. If possible, the property will go to the decedent's spouse, and if the decedent has any minor children with that spouse, it is with the understanding that the money will be used primarily for their care. If the decedent did not have children or a spouse (or outlived them), the property typically goes to the decedent's parents. If neither of them are alive, it goes to grand children, grandparents, or siblings. After that, it typically goes to cousins, nieces/nephews, step-children, former spouses, etc. Intestacy laws provide a line of succession long enough that just about anyone will leave at least one person behind who is entitled to inherit from them, even if they're an extremely distant relation. Sometimes, however, people make multiple wills, to account for the many personal and financial changes that normally happen during a person's life. Normally, the most recent will purports to revoke all past wills, to avoid any conflict between them. In such cases, if a will is entirely invalidated, a court can sometimes revive the second most recent will.

Can a Roswell, New Mexico Contested Will Attorney Help?

Contesting a will can be a complicated, emotional, expensive, and time-consuming process. There is really no way around this. However, a seasoned Roswell, New Mexico wills and estates attorney can minimize these problems, and make the process as painless as possible.

Talk to a Wills, Trusts & Estates Law Attorney now!

Life in Roswell

Roswell, New Mexico is a city in Chaves County, New Mexico. It is the county seat of Chaves County. It has a population of about 46,000 people, as of the 2000 Census.

The first European-American settlers of the area arrived in 1865, and were from Missouri. However, they abandoned their settlement a few years later for lack of water. In 1869, two businessmen partnered up and built two adobe structures in what would become Roswell. They served as the general store and post office.

Roswell is perhaps best known for the 1947 "UFO event" that occurred about 75 miles outside the city. An object crash-landed in the desert, which many people believe (or like to believe) was an alien spacecraft. The far more likely explanation, however, is that the object was a package of experimental military equipment carried aloft by a balloon, and it was simply a test gone wrong.

Nonetheless, the legend persists, and many businesses in Roswell cater to the many UFO enthusiasts who visit the city.

The vast majority of Roswell's residents, however, have ordinary jobs and lead ordinary lives. Because the average person is more likely than not to need to hire a lawyer at some point in their lives, Roswell has a significant legal community. If you live in the Roswell area and have a legal problem, a Roswell, New Mexico lawyer is the person to call.

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