Contested Wills in Pasadena, Texas

Find the right Contested Wills attorney in Pasadena, TX

Sometimes, family members of a recently-deceased person in Pasadena, Texas will attempt to claim that a will is invalid, usually because it leaves them out of it. This process is called a "Will contest."

Occasionally, testators leave out of their wills people who might normally expect to inherit a large portion of the testator's estate (spouses, for example). This might lead them to assume, correctly or not, that the will was a mistake.

If the decedent was fairly well-off, their will might involve a great deal of money or property. This is one of the major 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.

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

When Can a Will be Contested in Pasadena, Texas?

There are several reasons that a court in Pasadena, Texas 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.

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 Pasadena, Texas, 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 Pasadena, Texas Contested Will Attorney Help?

Because this can involve complicated legal issues, and be very emotionally draining, this is not something you want to go at alone. A reputable lawyer in Pasadena, Texas can be very helpful in making sure that this process goes as smoothly as possible.

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

Life in Pasadena

Pasadena, Texas is a city in Harris County. It is the second-largest city in Harris County, and the 15th largest city in Texas.

Before Europeans settled the area now known as Pasadena, several different Native American tribes lived there for thousands of years. Some of the final battles of the Texas Revolution, which resulted in Texas gaining independence from Mexico and becoming (for about ten years) its own country, were fought in the area now occupied by Pasadena. The 1900 hurricane that destroyed Galvaston also damaged Pasadena, but it resulted in a large influx of refugees into Pasadena, some of whom decided to stay. This led to a permanent population increase.

Modernly, Pasadena is home to one of the largest chemical processing complexes in the United States. It is called the Bayport Industrial District, and it is a crucial source of jobs in Pasadena, Texas. It is also home to a major shipping center, which is rapidly expanding the city's economic base.

If you live in Pasadena and are in need of a lawyer, the chances are good that you'll be able to find one. Pasadena, Texas lawyers practice law in a wide variety of legal areas, and will probably be able to take your case, no matter how large or small it is.

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