• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

is it legal to say in a will “if anyone in the will contests it they will get nothing

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

kendrahayes

Junior Member
state is kansas
Is it legal to put the wording in a will saying “if anyone named in the will contests the will they would forfeit anything they were given in the will even if the person wins in a court of law, THEY WILL GET NOTHING due to the fact they contested the will”? and would that stand up in a court of law?
A family member of mine had my grandfather sign some documents on his death bed a few weeks or months before he died from a long fight with cancer which involved 8 years or surgery and several rounds of chemo and hormone therapy. She faxed these documents into a lawyer and basically stole my grandmothers home, land and money away from her. Can we contest this and not risk my family losing what small amount my aunt did not take. I don’t know if this wording can really hold up in a court of law but i DON’T WANT MY GRANDMA TO LOSE EVERYTHING.
Any information or advice would be much appreciated. I am at a loss of what to do.
Thanks so much
respectfully yours
LOST IN GRIEF
 
Last edited:


j991

Member
The dispute clause in the will is a valid clause to the document and is a common clause when drafting wills and can hold up in court. However, it is possible for you to fight the will in court and win. You can't dispute what is left in the will (ie. you can't sue your siblings because they got a piece of furniture or the house and you think you should have a portion). You can dispute the validity of the will if you can show that a person altered, or un-duly influenced the will to be changed if the person making the will was not of sound mind or body. If that can be shown and the suit won, then the real legal battle begins in determining if there was a previous will, if the deceased was sound when it was drafted, etc.

Basically, it can be done, but it will be a long hard fight.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
Depends where you are (and I'm not going to bother to figure out what Iowa says). Non-contestability clauses are common things to insert into will. At the least it puts the heirs on notice not to squabble. Whether the court will support it, is another thing. Presumably anybody who is considering a legal challenge to such a will would have their lawyer review the likelihood that that clause would stand up.
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
This particular wording is not very good. They have no way of knowing whether the contest would be successful or not so the part about "THEY WILL GET NOTHING" is ridiculous.

How was this family member related to the grandfather, and did this family member also have power of attorney granted before the death occurred to give them authority to handle assets--is it possible that they used POA to change title or beneficiary designations on some of the assets? If so, then check with a family law attorney to find out if Kansas has laws on the books about abuse of power of attorney, and if so, then you can bring charges against the person for that, and get the assets returned to the estate, instead of paying big attorney fees in a will contest.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

kendrahayes

Junior Member
contesting will that was signed after my grandfather was not of sound mind

So my question is “are you saying that you can state that no person can contest the will and that statement hold up in a court of law”? The will also says that if anyone contests it they have to pay my aunts legal bills to fight the contest of the will. Is that legal?
My family is poor and from a small farming community - they have no means to fight her and pay her legal bills too but we can not stand for her robbing my grandma and forcing herself in-control of the entire estate.
my aunt who is my grandfathers daughter was given executer authority in this new (signed right before his death) for 15 to 20 years before he had named a different person in our family as his executer. The will she had him sign and then faxed to a different attorney than he had ever used previously was signed after many years of fighting cancer and several very hard years of chemo and other treatments which caused him to lose much of his normal mental function. I question if there is a way we can have it brought to light that she had him do this on his death bed at a time when he had a much diminished capacity of thought. My grandmother who has also struggled with mental illness was also to have signed the will though she protests that she did not and even went to this lawyer and told him she did not sign it. Several of the family members of mine were there and even with my grandmother saying she did not sign this will the layer would not give it to her. The will had not been filed at this point and the lawyer said he did not have it and that only my aunt (the one I was speaking of earlier stealing my grandmother blind) could have a copy of it.
Is there some way I can have this mental capacity thing looked into as I am concerned that my grandfather may have signed this will not knowing or understanding what it said. Also I am concerned as my aunt has access to medications that she may have been medicating my grandmother in an inappropriate way as to gain my grandmothers cooperation.
I was told yesterday the will had been filed and my family has basically been ripped apart. The changes I heard of yesterday not only effect my grandmother but my other aunts. They have now been cut completely out of the will and the family has been destroyed.
I am also concerned because it seems my aunt has been plotting this for a long time as she has stated that she has doctors statements that my grandmother was in sound mind when she signed the document. My grandmother has been medicated for social anxiety disorders and other mental problems since the 1960’s and has in no way ever been able to function outside of the home. She has been taken care of by my grandfather her entire life and know with him gone she stands to lose everything.
Another question I have I about my aunt medicating my grandmother. How do I go about having my aunt investigated for that as she is medical professional and I believe was abusing her access to narcotics to make my grandmother unable to mentally fight her where this is concerned. I also want to know if I can make it publicly known when I have my aunts involvement in medicating my grandmother investigated. Can I have the story published in a paper for instance legally and without doing anything illegal?
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
Forget about the newspaper story--that would subject you to a libel/slander lawsuit.

What you can do right now is go to the county courthouse probate court and get a copy of the will. Take it to the attorney who first handled your grandfather's legal matters in the past and get his opinion on whether you have grounds to contest. There may be enough mistakes in it that an attorney could petition the court to get it thrown out if there are not enough witnesses, look to see if the signature is forged, etc.

If you can get access to grandmother's and grandfather's medical records to show medications they were taking that could have influenced their mental capacity that would be in your favor.

It sounds like elder abuse has occurred here and you need to file a police report about that and find out what legal requirements would disqualify her from being executor and also did she get power of attorney and perhaps abuse that? There are ways you can challenge her without contesting the will, but contesting the will will be expensive in legal fees so you at least need to consult with an attorney for an hour or two (even if it costs something) to figure out what your next step should be.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
Was this aunt also handling the financial affairs of the grandfather and grandmother, paying their bills, etc.? Is it possible she was given power of attorney? If she had power of attorney, then law requires that she provide an accounting for any monies (along with receipts) she took and if she does not provide it, she could be charged with abuse of power of attorney. Discuss this with your lawyer.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

kendrahayes

Junior Member
THANK YOU, you have been very helpful. I am going to seek out a lawyer and see how I can help my grandma.
Bless you

This particular wording is not very good. They have no way of knowing whether the contest would be successful or not so the part about "THEY WILL GET NOTHING" is ridiculous.

How was this family member related to the grandfather, and did this family member also have power of attorney granted before the death occurred to give them authority to handle assets--is it possible that they used POA to change title or beneficiary designations on some of the assets? If so, then check with a family law attorney to find out if Kansas has laws on the books about abuse of power of attorney, and if so, then you can bring charges against the person for that, and get the assets returned to the estate, instead of paying big attorney fees in a will contest.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

kendrahayes

Junior Member
thanks so much for the advice, I will put it out of my mind. I do not want to cause problems I just want to get my grandma her house and all that my grandfather left her. She needs peace now after my grandfather's passing not more problems. Can't help but think how crazy this all is, but thank you for all your help. My grandmother has many thanks for you also.


Forget about the newspaper story--that would subject you to a libel/slander lawsuit.

What you can do right now is go to the county courthouse probate court and get a copy of the will. Take it to the attorney who first handled your grandfather's legal matters in the past and get his opinion on whether you have grounds to contest. There may be enough mistakes in it that an attorney could petition the court to get it thrown out if there are not enough witnesses, look to see if the signature is forged, etc.

If you can get access to grandmother's and grandfather's medical records to show medications they were taking that could have influenced their mental capacity that would be in your favor.

It sounds like elder abuse has occurred here and you need to file a police report about that and find out what legal requirements would disqualify her from being executor and also did she get power of attorney and perhaps abuse that? There are ways you can challenge her without contesting the will, but contesting the will will be expensive in legal fees so you at least need to consult with an attorney for an hour or two (even if it costs something) to figure out what your next step should be.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top