In this article, our Chicago will contest attorneys discuss who has standing to contest a will as well as the process of contention and the statute of limitations behind filing a will contest.Will contests are claims against a will due to undue influence, mental incompetence, fraud or another impropriety. When a will is contested, the filing party is essentially asking for probate court to step in and invalidate the will.The deadline in Illinois to file a petition to contest the validity of a will is six months from the date that the will was admitted to probate.  There are two exceptions to this rule:

1. A subsequent will may be admitted to probate after the six month deadline for will contests has passed.  This is not technically a will contest, although the subsequent will will likely invalidate the prior will.
2. A claim for intentional interference with expectancy of inheritance may be filed after the six month time period.  This is a civil suit that is distinct from a will contest.  

Any “interested person,” as defined by the Illinois Probate Act, may file a petition to contest a will.  The Illinois Probate Act defines an “interested person” as an heir, legatee, creditor, person entitled to a spouse’s or child’s award and the representative. The petition to contest a will must be mailed or delivered to all heirs, legatees, fiduciaries, or any other person whose rights would be affected by the will contest.  It must also be mailed or delivered to the executor or administrator and to the attorney of record for the executor or administration.

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Undue influence is a cause of action in Chicago will contests that look to show a basis to have a will invalidated. This occurs when the testator has their will overpowered by another part's wrongful actions. One of the keys to undue influence during will contests is whether a fiduciary duty existed between the person accused of using undue influence and the testator. IN this article, our Chicago will contest attorney examine undue influence in will contests and give you the information you need to understand what it is and how they are used in will contests.

In this article, our Chicago will contest lawyers discuss lack of testamentary capacity as used in will contests as a cause of action. We examine how a testator would lack the ability to create a will as well the time and execution of the will and whether they had the capacity to understand who their immediate family was, their property owned and planned disposition of property.