Some people expect an inheritance because they have a close family relationship with an individual who has substantial resources. Other people hear direct confirmation from a loved one about their legacy intentions. A child with two siblings may have grown up knowing that their parents intended for all three children to split the estate evenly.
Typically, wills and other estate planning documents presented to the California probate courts align with people’s expectations. Occasionally, they include surprising or disappointing terms. Sometimes, family members may have sincere concerns about the legitimacy of estate plan documents. They may question whether another person exerted undue influence or the testator had lost their capacity by the time they made their final adjustments to the plan.
Testators planning their legacies may try to prevent their families from fighting over an inheritance by including instructions in their documents to disinherit anyone who contests a will in court. Can the decision to challenge questionable documents deprive someone of their inheritance rights accordingly?
No-contest clauses are sometimes enforceable in California
The unfortunate reality for those concerned about the terms of an estate plan is that there is no guarantee of how the courts may view the litigation they initiate. If there is a no-contest clause, there are only a few scenarios in which litigation does not endanger an inheritance.
California law allows the courts to enforce a no-contest clause after an unnecessary will contest. However, the law restricts the enforcement of clauses in certain scenarios. If there is reason to believe that someone brought the will contest in good faith because they truly believed there were issues with the documents, then the courts do not need to enforce the no-contest clause. When there is evidence supporting the idea of undue influence, fraud or a lack of capacity on the part of a testator, the courts can hear a contest without stripping a plaintiff of their inheritance rights.
Discussing concerns about an estate plan at length with a skilled legal team can help someone evaluate whether they may be at risk if they take their concerns to court. No-contest clauses are useful when they protect an estate against unnecessary probate litigation. But, they can do more harm than good if they prevent people from speaking up about legitimate concerns.