Sometimes, wills get contested in Florida. When this happens, the executor as well as the probate court first need to figure out whether or not this individual legally has a right to challenge it. Here’s who typically has standing in a will contest.
A beneficiary
It’s not that uncommon for a beneficiary to contest a will. These individuals are named in the will as someone who the deceased chose to inherit some of their property or money. The beneficiary may contest it and have to take part in probate litigation when they aren’t happy with their inheritance. Some beneficiaries also contest a will if they don’t want the inheritance and would prefer that it go to someone else.
An heir
A lot of heirs think that they will inherit something but may find that they aren’t named in the will. When this happens, they choose to contest it. Many will challenges occur in the instance to where the deceased remarried and added their new spouse to the will and removed an heir.
A creditor
Just because someone dies, it doesn’t mean that a creditor doesn’t want what’s owed to them. If someone dies with a lot of debt and leaves behind a large estate, some creditors will contest a will to try to get some of this money. Whether or not the creditor will be successful will depend on the type of debt that the deceased owed.
Even if someone is able to contest a will, it doesn’t mean that they will still get part of the estate. It may take months to get these types of disputes solved if there are a lot of people that have standing in a will contest.