Who can challenge an inheritance under a will?

Receiving an inheritance is possible by law and by will. If suddenly you are not included in the list of heirs in the will, but you have legal grounds for it, it is too early to get upset.

Any will with a certain probability of success can be challenged in court. The law establishes a minimum share of the inheritance for certain categories of relatives if they are not indicated in the will.

In this article we will look at who has the right to challenge a will and what reasons there are for this. And how to secure your will so that after your death it is not the subject of litigation.

Who can challenge an inheritance under a will?

The list of persons who can is defined in Article 1131 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

First priority heirs: spouses, children or parents can file a claim.

These persons could receive an inheritance if there was no will.

According to the Civil Code there is the concept of a mandatory share. This is the part of the inheritance that, by law, is due to relatives in any case, whether a will was drawn up or not. Among them:

• Rising line. Disabled parents and dependents of the testator.
• Descending line. Minor children and pensioner children deprived of the ability to work.

- this is half of the inheritance due to them by law. This share is due to them due to incapacity for work.
When there are grounds to challenge a will for other reasons, all heirs and their representatives can do so.

There are 2 types of grounds on which a will can be invalidated.
1. General grounds. Grounds applicable to any civil transaction. It is assumed that the testator at the time of drawing up and signing was:

• Misled.
• He was not aware of himself and did not control his actions.
• Deceived, committed actions not of his own free will, but under threats or due to other grave circumstances.
• Partially or completely incapacitated.

Not all reasons why are given. The law also defines an expanded list. For these reasons, it is possible to invalidate the entire will or only one part of it.

Information!

When there are minor clerical errors and omissions in the will, they cannot be a reason for contestation if they are not capable of distorting the will of the testator.

• The freedom or secrecy of the will has been violated.
• There is no signature of the testator.
• The will was not drawn up in the form prescribed by law.
• Lack of necessary rights to authenticate the person who signed it.
• Other reasons.

To challenge a will, you must first file a lawsuit in the district court legally. This is done 6 months after the death of the testator. The cost of state duty for individuals when filing a claim in 2016 is 300 rubles.

The trial takes place in different places, depending on the nature of the case:

• Title deeds take place in the place where the property is located.
• The determination of the facts in the will is based on the place of residence of the person filing the claim.
• In other cases, the trial will take place at the defendant’s place of residence.

Before submitting to the court, you should collect a package of necessary documents in advance:

• Documents defining family ties (marriage certificate, birth certificate).
• Documents providing grounds for receiving an inheritance.
• Death certificate.
• Papers confirming the invalidity of the will, when available.
• Documents that describe the special circumstances surrounding the making and authentication of a will.
• Other documents necessary for the process.
• Often the consideration of such claims lasts for a long period, since it is necessary to conduct many expert assessments.

Warning

Repeated filing of a claim to contest a will is not permitted. Therefore, it is better to immediately hire an experienced lawyer who will help you prepare well for the case.

Article 1131 of the Civil Code defines the types of contested wills and the time frame for challenging each of them:

• Insignificant. Making a will involves breaking the law. The form or content was violated, the signatures were entered incorrectly, the testator was incapacitated at the time of signing. The period for contesting is 3 years.
• Disputed. It is recognized as invalid by the court upon discovery of facts of psychological or physical pressure on the testator. Threats of violence or death. The period for contesting is 1 year.

The statute of limitations for an inheritance transferred by law, and not by will, is determined to be one year from the end of those reasons that prevented a person from challenging the right to inheritance on time.

Attention!

It is possible to challenge an inheritance only when it is opened. This cannot be done during the life of the testator.

Most of the challenges that the court grants are related to incorrect drafting of the will form. Therefore, when drawing up, it is extremely important to comply with all legal regulations.

The cost of challenging a will in court varies.

Costs are associated primarily with the services of a lawyer or attorney.

The more complex the case and the more facts and evidence you need to collect to win it, the more expensive it is.

When the testator was registered in a psychoneurological dispensary, then for a good lawyer it would not be difficult to prove his incapacity when drawing up a will. In this case, you can get by with 40 thousand rubles.

If it is necessary to prove the degree of relationship with the deceased and find direct evidence of incapacity, the cost of a lawyer’s services reaches impressive amounts - up to 150, 250 thousand and much more.

Any will can be challenged. And nothing can be done about it. But in order to protect the will as much as possible from such actions, you need to comply with a number of requirements:

• Draw up a will in compliance with the smallest nuances in form, content and execution procedure. It is better to seek help from a lawyer.
• Obtain a certificate in advance from a psychoneurological clinic for drawing up and signing a will. This will help protect against investigation of the testator’s sanity in court.
• Take two witnesses to draw up the will. It's better if one of them is a psychiatrist.
• Some notaries record video during the probate process. Find one.

Illegitimate heirs

Sometimes the court finds the heirs under a will unworthy. Then the will is revoked. Who can be considered unworthy?

• Citizens who committed illegal actions against the testator.
• Citizens deprived of parental rights to their children-heirs.
• Citizens who do not fulfill their obligations under annuity agreements for lifelong maintenance.

Warning

When a court revokes a will, its previous version takes legal effect. If there is none, then the inheritance is distributed according to the law.

Any will can be challenged if there are compelling reasons. But it is extremely difficult to challenge a competently and correctly drawn up will.
There is a great chance of success in challenging it when the testator was truly insane at the time of signing the will and you have evidence of this fact.