Contested Wills in Fairfield, Connecticut

Find the right Contested Wills attorney in Fairfield, CT

In Fairfield, Connecticut, there is a process through which a person can challenge the validity of a will. This is identified as a "contested will" or "will contest."

There are various reasons why a person might want to contest a will made by a close family member. Sometimes, people will decide to leave money or property to charity, or to other entities who are not closely related. If their family members weren't expecting this, they might assume that something went wrong with the drafting of the will.

If a considerable amount of money or property is being given away, the person left out of the will could rationally conclude that the cost and time of a court challenge is worth it.

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 Fairfield, Connecticut?

There are various reasons that a Fairfield, Connecticut court might hold a will to be invalid.

For instance, a will which was not made under the testator's own volition and free will is not valid. This means that the testator must be acting voluntarily throughout the entire process of making his will. Thus, a will made under duress (force, or threat of force) will not be given effect. In order to show duress, you generally need to first prove that the person named in the will was in a position of trust and power over the decedent, and that they are an "unnatural beneficiary" (someone who you would not normally expect to receive a gift under a will, usually because they are not related to, or close friends with, the testator). These facts, taken alone, are never enough to definitively prove that duress occurred. They are, however, usually enough to suggest that something strange is going on, and warrant further investigation.

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 the contest is successful, a court in Fairfield, Connecticut might find the will or part of it invalid. Of course, that leaves the question of how to distribute the property in the absence of a valid will. All states have laws that address this situation, typically passing the property to the decedent's closest living kin. All states have laws governing the order in which property is passed on in this manner. Normally, it goes to the spouse first. If there is no living spouse, it goes to the children. If there are no children, it goes to the decedent's parents, and so on. Most laws on this subject are written in such a way that almost everyone will have at least one relative entitled to inherit, even if that person is very distantly related to the decedent. In the very rare case where no living relatives exist, or none can be found, the decedent's assets usually go to the state.

Can a Fairfield, Connecticut Contested Will Attorney Help?

Contesting a will is never particularly easy or enjoyable. However, a reliable Fairfield, Connecticut 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 Fairfield

Fairfield, Connecticut is a city located in Fairfield County. It has a population of approximately 57,000 people. Fairfield has been ranked by Money Magazine as one of the top 10 places to live in the U.S. It was ranked by the same publication as the best place to live in the Northeast, owing to its high median household income, relatively low home prices, extremely low crime rates, and quality of schools, among many other factors. Fairfield was originally established in the 1630s by a breakaway Puritan sect from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. During the American Revolutionary War, Fairfield was the site of significant fighting, and was particularly hard-hit by the ruthless, scorched-earth tactics of some British commanders, with many residents having their homes and businesses burned. Modernly, Fairfield, Connecticut is home to a large number (for a city its size) of major multinational corporations, including General Electric. It shouldn't be a surprise, then, that Fairfield, Connecticut is home to quite a few competent attorneys, who have to be ready to serve an extremely diverse and sophisticated client base. It's very likely that, whatever Fairfield, Connecticut lawyer you choose, they'll be able to help you with your legal problem.

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