Contested Wills in West Warwick, Rhode Island

Find the right Contested Wills attorney in West Warwick, RI

Occasionally, family members of a recently-deceased person in West Warwick, Rhode Island will attempt to claim that a will is invalid, usually because it leaves them out of it. This process is called a "Will contest."

A will is usually contested when a family member who expected to inherit a large amount of money or property are disappointed with the contents of the will, especially if the testator's motives are not clear. They will often assume that the will must be a forgery, or a result of fraud or force.

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

Bringing legal action against anyone, let alone a family member, is not a decision that you should rush into. Contesting a will, especially if another family member stands to lose out if you are successful in the contest, can permanently alter or even destroy family relationships. Obviously, this is something to consider.

When Can a Will be Contested in West Warwick, Rhode Island?

A court in West Warwick, Rhode Island will not entertain a will contest unless there is a very good reason to do so. However, there are some allegations which, if proven, clearly invalidate a will.

For example, 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. However, 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.

A will can also be rejected 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 example) at the time the will was made, the will can still be invalidated.

If you successfully contest the will in West Warwick, Rhode Island, 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 usually happen during a person's life. Usually, 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 West Warwick, Rhode Island Contested Will Attorney Help?

Because a will contest can sometimes involve confusing legal and factual questions, as well as some very raw emotions, a skilled West Warwick, Rhode Island attorney can be invaluable in helping this process go as smoothly as possible.

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

Life in West Warwick

West Warwick is located in Rhode Island's Kent County. Per the 2010 census, its population is 29,191 people.

The city is surrounded by the Pawtuxet River. An unfortunate incident involving the Pawtuxet was that in 2010, extreme rainfall caused the water level to rise approximately 21 feet. This caused flooding throughout must of the city.

Popular sites include Arctic, Centerville, Clyde, Lippitt Mill and Natick.

West Warwick, along with surrounding cities, together comprise of a very competent legal force. Attorneys in the wide area practice in many fields of law and are very experienced. Thus residents do not have to travel far to seek competent legal counsel.

Overall, Westwarwick is a charming, quaint place to live or visit!

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