Can you contest a will after the probate case is done?

One question that I receive is can you contest a will after the probate case is done? And the short answer in most instances is no, you cannot contest a will after the probate case is done. The probate case will put the will at issue. And so if you are interested in contesting the will, you need to do that within the context of the probate case.

Now, the grounds for contesting the will generally have to do with either the will is not valid for some technical reason. The will is not valid because it wasn’t signed by the decedent, the person who passed away, or the will was signed, but the person who signed it was unduly influenced by another person.

So those generally are the grounds for contesting the will. And once the will is admitted into probate, that is the time for someone to raise one of these challenges as to the validity of the will. 

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