When Can A Will Be Challenged?
Wills can be challenged for numerous different reasons. These include:
- The person making the Will may have been unduly influenced into making a Will, which does not reflect his/her intentions.
- The person making the will may have lacked the capacity to make a Will. The law sets out minimum standards of capacity at the time of making a will.
- The Will may be a product of fraud. It may be a forgery or the Will may have been properly signed but the person signing may have been misled as to what was being executed.
- The testator may have failed to take into consideration his/her obligation to dependants. Provincial law requires that individuals to whom the deceased had financial or moral obligations be adequately provided for.
- There may be suspicious circumstances surrounding the creation of the will such that the validity of the Will may be challenged on the basis that the testator did not know and approve the contents of the Will.
- The will was not properly executed. In Ontario, for a Will to be valid it must either be wholly in the handwriting of the testator (holograph Will) or must be signed by the testator while in the presence of two witnesses, who each must sign the Will while in the presence of the testator. If the Will has not been signed and witnessed properly, the Will may be invalid.
If you feel you have reason to challenge the validity of a Will, or you are facing a challenge to the validity of a Will, our team of Will dispute lawyers can help.
For further information, please contact a call or a member of our estates litigation team.