Contested Wills in Virginia Beach, Virginia

Find the right Contested Wills attorney in Virginia Beach, VA

The laws of Virginia Beach, Virginia allow certain people to challenge, or "contest" the validity of a will.

Occasionally, when a person who expected to be included in a will is left out, their natural assumption is that there was some mistake, or that the will was made through improper means, such as duress or fraud, or that the will is an outright forgery.

If a large amount of money is involved, someone who was left out of a will, or not given what they were expecting, might believe that contesting the will is worth the time, money, and energy that doing so would require.

As with the initiation of any other legal proceeding, contesting a will is a big decision. It can be time-consuming and costlye. It also has the possibility to damage family relationships and foster strife among individuals who are already mourning the loss of a loved one.

When Can a Will be Contested in Virginia Beach, Virginia?

There are several reasons that a court in Virginia Beach, Virginia might invalidate a will.

For instance, a will obtained through duress (a threat of harm, usually physical) is invalid. Of course, duress is very difficult to prove after the fact, and the issue may not even come up until many years after it allegedly occurred, making proof even more difficult. Nonetheless, if the named beneficiary was in some type of position of power or trust with respect to the decedent, and is not someone who one would normally expect to get a large gift in a will (they're unrelated to the testator, for example), those facts alone might be enough to raise the suspicion of impropriety. Of course, those facts by themselves are not enough to prove duress.

Another fact that might invalidate a will is the mental incompetence of the testator. Wills must be a product of a person's volition. A will cannot be truly voluntary unless the testator knows what they're doing. Therefore, if the testator is mentally incompetent at the time he or she makes the will, the will cannot take effect. You should be aware, however, that this test applies at the time the will is made. So, if the testator is not mentally competent at the time of death, but was when the will was made, the will is valid.

So, you've succeeded in contesting the validity of a Virginia Beach, Virginia will. What happens to the property that was going to be distributed according to its terms? Generally, when a will is declared void, the decedent's assets will be treated as if he or she had died without a will. This is known as "intestacy." Usually, this simply means that the assets will be passed on to their owner's closest living relative, typically a spouse, children, siblings, or parents. If absolutely no relatives can be found, the property is passed to the state. If there is a previous will, which was revoked by the invalid will, a court might revive the old will. If the new will was found to be completely invalid (rather than just parts of it), it follows, then, that the revocation of the old will is invalid as well. Therefore, the old will can be given effect.

Can a Virginia Beach, Virginia Contested Will Attorney Help?

Contesting a will is never particularly easy or enjoyable. However, a reputable Virginia Beach, Virginia attorney can help take some of the burden off of you, and handle some of the most difficult aspects of this process.

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

Life in Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach, Virginia is a popular tourist town located on the Atlantic Ocean in the southeastern corner of Virginia. The city is home to an estimated population of over 440,000 residents and is the most populated city in all of Virginia. It is also the 41st largest city in the United States.

Virginia Beach is best known as a resort city and has beaches that stretch for miles with hotels, restaurants, and clubs crowding the ocean front for residents and visitors to enjoy. In fact, Virginia Beach is in the Guiness Book of World Records for having the longest "pleasure beach" in the world. Real Estate and tourism are the two biggest components to Virginia Beach economy. In addition to expansive beaches, the city is also home to 210 parks within it's city limits.

Virginia Beach is also home to a major fighter jet base for the U.S. Navy -- Naval Air Station Oceana which also helps drive the Virginia beach economy. Of the 11 public high schools in Virginia Beach one provides students with some interesting legal training. First Colonial High School has a legal student academy giving high school students classes in legal research and writing, intro to the law, and other law-based classes to prepare the students for a legal job. With a focus on the law at such a young age, it is no wonder that there are so many great lawyers in Virginia Beach. Virginia Beach lawyers are trained at some of the best schools in the country and with legal training as young as 14, it is no wonder that Virginia Beach lawyers are so good at what they do!

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