You may have experienced being left out of a will of a deceased loved one with no enough reason at all. Whether it is due to mental incapacity of the testator, undue influence, forgery, or fraud, but if you are pretty sure that it was a mistake and that the testator intended to leave you a part of his inheritance, then the will should still be contested.
The will of a deceased person may still be contested by a person with a standing, which includes anyone who have or could have benefited from the inheritance if the will was voided, but this usually comes with a very expensive price tag.
It is widely known that litigations are costly, which is the main reason why most of disputes are settle outside the court. The cost of contesting a will is no different. In fact, the overall cost of challenging a will is more expensive than other types of litigation because of the nature of the case along with the amount of investigation required in solving the case.
How much does challenging a will usually costs?
There are two general factors that affects the cost of contesting a will: the decision of the court and whether you win or lose the case. The court can affect a major part of the cost in contesting a will as they have the discretion to adjust the cost according to their judgment. Losing the case could also have a major effect on the cost as the court may mandate the losing party to pay for the winning party’s costs. This is why you should take caution and carefully judge the situation when deciding to challenge a will as losing the case means losing both the inheritance you are trying to claim as well as shouldering both parties’ litigation costs.
It is also commonly believed that the cost of any inheritance claim would be deducted from the inheritance in question. This may not always be the case as the court may, as mentioned earlier, mandate the unsuccessful party to pay the cost of litigation of the winning party. This could only be avoided if either the testator, the person who made the will, caused the litigation or when the party, even with a reasonable intention, conducted an investigation with regards to the case, in which they are required to shoulder the cost of such investigation. Depending on your situation, most estate lawyers could help you claim inheritance and would shoulder costs for you until the settlement of the case.
One of the most important things you should consider before contesting a will is that if the estate or inheritance you are claiming exceeds in value the costs of litigation. It would be wasteful to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars just to claim a property or inheritance that’s worth only a couple of thousand dollars. Unless you value the essence of winning what was rightfully yours regardless of the cost, you should try to estimate the cost of litigation against the value of the asset in question before deciding to challenge a will using data from previous inheritance claims. You could also employ the service of an estate lawyer to assess your situation. If you are in Australia, the site: www.challengeawillnsw.com.au, gives free assessment on whether you have a strong claim in contesting a will. Government agencies also help people like you to asses claims on a will and even lets you save money compared to private law firms.
All in all, litigation is an expensive but unavoidable process, the best way to save money is make sure that you get the best legal help and win the case. This way, the money you spent is all worth it.