Contested Wills in Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Find the right Contested Wills attorney in Oshkosh, WI

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

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, particularly if the testator's motives are not clear. They will frequently assume that the will must be a forgery, or a result of fraud or force.

If there is a large amount of money or property at stake, a family member who was left out of the will might find it to be worth the time or money to contest it.

You should remember that a will contest often results in adversarial legal proceedings, which can be very combative. Considering the likelihood that other members of your family might be on the other side, it's clear that this can really damage a person's relationship with his or her family.

When Can a Will be Contested in Oshkosh, Wisconsin?

There are numerous reasons that an Oshkosh, Wisconsin court might hold a will to be invalid.

One big reason to invalidate a will is the fact that the will was made under duress. "Duress" simply means forcing somebody to do something they don't want to, using some kind of threat. Usually, the threat involves some type of physical harm. The most obvious example would involve putting a gun to somebody's head and telling them to write a will containing the terms desired by the gunman. Such a will, assuming the underlying facts can be proven in court, will never be valid. Of course, the validity of a will rarely becomes an issue until the testator has died, which may be years after the will was drafted. This means that proving the circumstances under which the will was made can often be very difficult. However, there are certain facts, such as the devise being to an "unnatural" beneficiary (somebody the testator didn't know very well, for instance), and the beneficiary being in a position of power over the decedent, are enough to at least create a suspicion that something is wrong.

Another thing to consider is the mental capacity of the person making the will. If, at the time the will was made, the testator was insane or heavily intoxicated, the will is likely to be held invalid by a court, if the underlying facts can be shown.

If the contest is successful, a court in Oshkosh, Wisconsin 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, usually 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. Typically, 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 Oshkosh, Wisconsin Contested Will Attorney Help?

Because a will contest can sometimes involve convoluted legal and factual questions, as well as some very raw emotions, a skilled Oshkosh, Wisconsin attorney can be invaluable in helping this process go as smoothly as possible.

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

Life in Oshkosh

Oshkosh, Wisconsin is a city in Winnebago County. According to a Census estimate from 2007, its population is approximately 64,000 people.

Oshkosh is named the Menominee Chief Oshkosh, whose name means "claw" in the Menominee language. He was one of the first Native Americans in the area to make contact with European settlers and fur traders in the 18th Century.

During the early 19th Century, the area gradually grew as a trading post for furs, meat, and other natural resources that were abundant in the frontier. By the mid-19th Century, the industrial revolution was underway, and Oshkosh, Wisconsin's economy boomed thanks to its abundant lumber, and the building boom brought on by industry. The presence of navigable waterways and, later, the arrival of a railroad made the area even more attractive for this industry.

Modernly, Oshkosh is a fairly quiet city, with a large number of residential neighborhoods. Its economy is faring relatively well, compared to other cities in the region, doing slightly better than the national average in several indicators, such as unemployment and the percentage of people below the poverty line.

If you live in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and have a legal issue, it's likely that there's an attorney who can handle it, no matter how complicated or simple it is. Oshkosh, Wisconsin lawyers can handle just about any case you can throw at them.

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