Contesting the Validity of Wills in New York Surrogate's Court
The estate litigation attorneys at the law office of GREENFIELD STEIN & SENIOR, LLP, have represented clients in almost all of New York's Surrogate's Courts in proceedings to defend or contest the validity of wills. Our lawyers have many years of experience litigating contested wills and determining inheritance rights in New York County, Westchester County, Nassau County, Suffolk County, Duchess County, and throughout the state. Learn more about our law firm, or contact our Manhattan office to schedule an appointment.
Wills can be contested on several grounds. A contested will will be invalidated in New York if the challenger can establish one of the following grounds:
- The decedent (the person who made the will and has died) was not competent when the contested will was drafted. This may be the case, for example, if the person who wrote the contested will had a mental illness or was in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.
- The decedent was unduly influenced by someone who would benefit from the terms of the contested will. Undue influence could be the case, for example, if an adult child who was acting as caregiver to an elder parent threatened to harm or actually harmed the parent in order to gain advantage in a will.
- The contested will was improperly written and is therefore not valid or enforceable. A will may be improperly drafted if it excludes some property or fails to either include or disinherit a rightful heir. While there may be many lawyers who advertise estate planning and will drafting services, not every lawyer is sufficiently knowledgeable about this specialized area of the law. Many inheritance disputes arise as a result of improperly drafted wills.
- The will was improperly executed and is therefore not valid or enforceable. An improperly executed will is a will that was not signed and witnessed with the strict formalities required for a will to be valid and binding.
- The will is a forgery. Wills that are not written by an attorney, while they may be valid, are at particular risk for charges of forgery.
Contact our office to speak with one of our trust and estate litigation attorneys regarding your rights in an inheritance dispute or to contest a will. Our estate litigation attorneys have tried many probate contests, including many high-profile cases that have become reported decisions because they created new legal precedent.
You will find few law firms who can match the estate litigation attorneys at GREENFIELD STEIN & SENIOR, LLP, in experience and results in New York Surrogate's (or Probate) Courts for contested will cases.
Review a list of our reported decisions.
Read an article by GREENFIELD STEIN & SENIOR, LLP, attorney Harvey Corn on will contests in New York.
