Family Relationship at Risk: 3 Tips in Contesting a Will
Losing a beloved family member is one of the toughest and most painful events in anyone’s life. With the great amount of emotional turmoil that you experience throughout the grieving process, there are still a lot of things that you need to think about.
When the deceased loved one has left a last will and testament, all its legal implications will be the last thing on your mind. Since you are still in the process of recovering from the loss of your family member, you won’t be thinking of it as much yet. Nevertheless, you need to face it, especially when you are contesting the will and claiming what is legally yours.
The process of contesting a will can be very stressful for the entire family. The partition of the assets among the members of your family can create a dispute and could even lead to court. Emotions are also heightened knowing you are battling against a relative or a family member.
Apparently, no one wants to go through the frustrating process of challenging a will. However, if you really need to do it, then here are some tips on how you can manage the process:
Reflect
In case you truly believe that you weren’t provided with enough inheritance, you must reflect upon the relationship built between you and the deceased. The only people who are eligible to contest a will are the current or previous spouse, children, or anyone who took care and lived in the same home with the deceased two years before the death. So, make sure you are one of these people prior to challenging the will.
Communicate
No matter how difficult it is to communicate with all the parties involved in the case, you still need to talk to one another. With or without the assistance of a legal team, you must try to settle the dispute. In fact, the court expects the parties to resolve the matter without going through the proceedings first. Though this might not be always attainable, still make an effort to work everything out and simply have an amicable agreement. After all, a family is still a family.
Take action
It is highly recommended that you take action as soon as possible when you contest a will. Even if there’s no statutory time limit for challenging the validity of a will, the court is also allowed to decide not to let a claim push through. However, you are expected to act once an unreasonable delay happens caused by the other party. Moreover, you have the right to proceed with the claim in order for the assets not to be dissipated.
On the whole, it is never easy to contest a will. You have to go through a lot of proceedings prior to successfully winning your claim. Thus, the useful tips mentioned above will absolutely aid you once you are in this kind of situation. These tips might even save your relationship with your relatives or family despite the lengthy legal battle.
