Parents with estate plans frequently choose to leave resources for their children. Children have a right of inheritance if their parents die without a will. If a parent drafts a will, they have the authority to decide what each of their beneficiaries inherits.
Many parents focus on fairness. They may leave an even inheritance to each of their children. Others may adjust inheritances based on what their children need or the strength of their relationship with each of their children. Occasionally, parents make the difficult decision to disinherit one of their children. Other times, the will may not mention certain children at all. In such cases, those children may question whether they have grounds to contest the will in probate court. They may hope that by challenging their parent’s testamentary instrument, they can receive an inheritance as they expected.
Do children have a right of inheritance that provides grounds to contest a will after a parent dies?
Some children can contest a will over their omission
Typically, those who want to challenge a will’s validity in probate court must have specific legal grounds for doing so. Many will contests involve claims of diminished capacity on the part of the deceased individual or undue influence that may have altered the terms included in their documents.
Occasionally, disinherited adult children may be able to assert that their parent lacked capacity at the time that they drafted or updated a will. If their parent disinherited them in favor of a sibling who was also the parent’s caregiver, then that might also provide grounds for a contest on the basis of undue influence.
Without those special circumstances, there may only be one scenario in which disinherited children can contest a will. Some people draft a will and then never review the document again. If the parent’s will pre-dates the child’s birth, then they could potentially contest the will by asserting that their parent simply failed to update the documents to include them. Will contests may result in the courts setting aside the will or referring to an older version of the document in some cases.
Reviewing testamentary document and family circumstances with a skilled legal team can help disinherited children determine if they are in a position to initiate probate litigation. A successful will contest could help a disappointed child receive the inheritance that their parent may have wanted to provide for them.