Anatomy of a Will Contest
Legal Theories
The legal theories that might apply to a lawsuit contesting the validity of a will or trust are many, but almost always they include both “Lack of Capacity” and “Undue Influence.”
When a will or trust (or other legal document) is challenged for lack of capacity, as the name suggests, the proofs must show that, at the moment the document was signed, the person signing it lacked the cognitive ability to reasonably understand the nature and effect of what they were doing.