How do I?

[ibnatasha2u]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Washington

How do I request a copy of a will?

How do I find out if a will has been executed or if its gone to probate?

How do I find out who the executor is?

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[JETX]

How do I request a copy of a will?
How do I find out if a will has been executed or if its gone to probate?
How do I find out who the executor is?

The answer to all the above is the same.... Contact the probate court where the decadent had property.

 

[ibnatasha2u]

Ok I will do that. Thank You. I assume that would be Superior Court?
Now for another question....

What is a no contest clause?

 

[JETX]

Ok I will do that. Thank You. I assume that would be Superior Court?

Nope. As I said in my post... PROBATE court.

What is a no contest clause?

Simply, it means, if you contest the will, you lose any right to inherit.

will contest
n. a lawsuit challenging the validity of a will and/or its terms. Bases for contesting a will include the competency of the maker of the will (testator) at the time the will was signed, the "undue influence" of someone who used pressure to force the testator to give him/her substantial gifts in the will, the existence of another will or trust, challenging illegal terms or technical faults in the execution of the will, such as not having been validly witnessed. A trial of the will contest must be held before the will can be probated, since if the will is invalid, it cannot be probated.

 

[Farfalla]

....

What is a no contest clause?

They are often not enforceable.

 

[JETX]

They are often not enforceable.

NOT TRUE.

No contest clauses are common and if properly written are absolutely enforceable.

 

[Farfalla]

No Contest Clauses – No contest, or in terrorem, clauses, are not much favored, as many
states see them as an impediment to a beneficiary’s right to contest the validity of a will or
trust. Thus, many states that once considered such clauses valid have enacted legislation to
make them unenforceable. See, e.g., Fla. St. 737.207. Settlors or testators who wish to rely
on such clauses may wish to seek a jurisdiction, such as California, Illinois or New York that

06/21/05 4 uphold them. (Note that the Trusts and Estates section of the State Bar of California,
however, has proposed legislation making “no contest” clauses unenforceable. The proposal
is currently under study by the California Law Revision Commission.)
8. Public Policy Issues – Some dispositive or administrative provisions
http://files.ali-aba.org/thumbs/datastorage/skoobesruoc/pdf/CL003-CH12_thumb.pdf

For example:

Florida, no-contest clauses -- aka in terrorem clauses -- are void as against public policy, thought to chill citizens' access to the courts for redress. Where &quote;In Terrorem&quote; Should Spark Fear

Note from the following Washington state definition of no contest clause, if a person successfully challenges the will, the clause does not hold. So it’s a calculated risk.

NO CONTEST CLAUSE (aka IN TERROREM CLAUSE)
A will clause providing for the revocation of a gift to any beneficiary who unsuccessfully contests the will.
Washington Probate - Estate Planning & Probate Glossary

further…

An in terrorem clause is intended to discourage beneficiaries from legal battles after the testator is deceased. However, if the will is challenged and found to be invalid (perhaps because of lack of capacity or undue influence), then the in terrorem clasue which was part of the failed will fails as well. Whether or not to challenge the will then becomes a calculated risk.

An in terrorem clause is not much help to disinherit a child or other beneficiary entirely. It is most useful when the child or other beneficiary receives something meaningful under the will, but just less than what he or she might feel entitled to. If you completely disinherit someone, and include an in terrorem clause in the will, there is not much of a threat. If the person you are concerned about challenging the will is not a beneficiary, he or she has nothing to forfeit (and nothing to “fear”). So an in terrorem clause would have no effect on him or her. For the clause to work, you have to leave enough to the disfavored beneficiary so that the beneficiary has too much to lose if the challenge fails.
Disinheritance and In Terrorem Clauses : Pennsylvania Fiduciary Litigation

 

[JETX]

Note from the following Washington state definition of no contest clause, if a person successfully challenges the will, the clause does not hold. So it’s a calculated risk.

Wow... so you can cut-n-paste.... HOWEVER, you can't read your own pastes.

Let's recap your stupidity....
The location of this thread is WASHINGTON state.

The OP asked "What is a no contest clause?"

I answered with an explanation... and a legal definition.

You, in your full glory of ignorance, said "They are often not enforceable."

Which of course, is NOT correct for Washington state (remember the location!!).

When I called you out on your ignorance... you provide a 'cut-n-paste' with a lot of online information about FLORIDA and PENNSYLVANIA.

Then, the one thing that you provide about the relevant state (Washington, remember) gives a definition of 'no contest clauses' in WASHINGTON!!!

YOU ARE A LEGAL IDIOT. Do the posters on this forum a favor and STOP posting your incorrect 'advice'.

 

[mojo1951]

Contact the probate court where the decadent had property.

JETX...I am surprised !!!...How do you know that the decedent was decadent?

 

[Farfalla]

Wow... so you can cut-n-paste.... HOWEVER, you can't read your own pastes.

Let's recap your stupidity....
The location of this thread is WASHINGTON state.

The OP asked "What is a no contest clause?"

I answered with an explanation... and a legal definition.

…
Then, the one thing that you provide about the relevant state (Washington, remember) gives a definition of 'no contest clauses' in WASHINGTON!!!

Yes I answered with the definition as used in Washington. And I included it for a very specific purpose. It explained something further….

NO CONTEST CLAUSE (aka IN TERROREM CLAUSE)
A will clause providing for the revocation of a gift to any beneficiary who unsuccessfully contests the will.
Washington Probate - Estate Planning & Probate Glossary

It states that the clause revokes a gift if the beneficiary unsuccessfully contests the will. Hence if it is successfully challenge the clause does not revoke the will.

And yes I did include things from other states that had an important point to them…

That many states, while not Washington, believe that no contest clauses should not be allowed because they prevent a person from access to the courts for redress.

The other cut/past from Pen. was to point out that a no contest clause is no threat at all to a person who is not a beneficiary to a will.

May lay people believe that a no contest clause applies even if a contest is won and ever if a person is not a beneficiary of the will.

If I were dealing with a will that has a no contest clause, I’d really like to know those points. I did assume that the OP and other readers of this forum would grasp those points.