Austin, TX estates planning & probate attorney Kyle Robbins shares what you need to know about a Will Contest. He points out that estate litigation usually involves a will and typically arises when a family member or party seeks to challenge or overturn it. Most often, this occurs when a will is executed toward the end of someone’s life—sometimes in the last year, or even just weeks or days before death. Such late-life wills are often much weaker and carry a higher risk of being contested.

He also notes that disputes frequently arise when a new spouse, who has little or no relationship with the decedent’s adult children, is left as the primary or sole beneficiary, effectively cutting the children out. In these cases, issues such as undue influence may come into play. Another common scenario involves caretakers who unexpectedly inherit significant assets, raising questions about fairness and intent.

Ultimately, he sees estate litigation most often arise from late-life estate plans that either exclude a family member or child, or deviate drastically from prior wills, creating conflicts that require legal resolution.