Contesting a Will

[mlbarnes]

Jurisdiction

Ohio

My grandfather did not put me in his will and only gave my father $50.00. My father had to sign papers not to contest. I did not. Everything is left to my greedy uncle - including the profit from the sale of the house. Can I contest the will? It is still in probate...

 

[zddoodah]

My father had to sign papers not to contest.

Please elaborate as to what this means. "Had to" sign? Or what? What would your father contest?

Everything is left to my greedy uncle - including the profit from the sale of the house.

Your grandfather was entitled to dispose of his estate however he wanted, and regardless of your opinion of your uncle.

Can I contest the will?

Sure. On what grounds would you contest it? That you're unhappy your grandfather chose not to leave you anything isn't a valid ground for contesting a will.

 

[txls]

Grandfather could have left all of his money and belongings to his dog and cat if he wanted to. You nor your father are automatically entitled to inherit anything just because of your relationship. Now if perhaps you think greedy uncle somehow coerced grandfather to leave everything to him and perhaps grandfather wasn't of sound mind at the time. Well perhaps you could fight it. But that's a lot of perhaps and might cost a lot to TRY to prove it.

 

[army judge]

Yes, you can hire a lawyer and contest the will.

==================================

The dear old man could have loved one son more than the other.

Yes, it often happens.

However, the dear, sweet old man left his son fifty bucks.

People, at one time used simply say, thank you for the gift.

These days they whine about it not being enough.

My dear, sweet granny sent her grands a crisp, new $2.00 bill on our birthdays.

I have about 35 of those bills today.

I never spent one, and each year as a child we were required to write her a thank you letter.

I kept writing mine until she passed away at age 102.

I remain deeply appreciative that she thought enough of me to send me a birthday card every year she lived, after I was born.

Those $2.00 bills will never be spent.

 

[zddoodah]

Can I contest the will?

Sure. On what grounds would you contest it? That you're unhappy your grandfather chose not to leave you anything isn't a valid ground for contesting a will.

I forgot one very important thing in my prior response. When a person successfully contests a will, one of two things will happen: (1) if the contested will replaced an earlier will that is not contested, then the earlier will controls the disposition of the estate; (2) if there is no earlier will, the law of intestate succession will govern the disposition of the estate. In case you don't know, that's the law that determines who gets what when a person dies without a will. It is generally (if not universally) the law that only those persons who stand to benefit from a will contest have standing to contest the will. For example, if John makes a will and leaves his entire estate to his neighbor Susan and then makes a new will that leaves the estate to the Society for the Preservation of Wombat, Susan (and no one else) would have standing to contest the new will. John's other neighbor Bob would not have standing because he would have nothing to gain from a successful will contest.

In your case, since you didn't mention any earlier will in which something was left for you, I have to assume that no such earlier will existed. Accordingly, if your grandfather's will were successfully contested, the result would be that his estate would be administered under the applicable law of intestate succession. Since your father is alive, you would have no standing to contest the will because you would have nothing to gain from a successful contest. Your father, on the other hand, would have standing, but nothing you have told us indicates he would have any grounds to contest the will.