Who can Dispute my Will?

You often hear or read about a Will being contested in court by a close family member who feels they are either entitled to more or that the deceased's wishes have been misunderstood.

In the main, very few Wills are ever disputed, though, any of the follow people may be able to enter a claim for greater provision out of the estate:

• Spouse
• Children (Note: Both legitimate and illegitimate Children are eligible)
• Former Spouse
• Grandchildren
• Parents
• De Facto Spouse

If you are excluding any of the above dependants from your Will, it is important that you advise your executor and include a clause in your Will stating the reasons for the omission. Alternatively, you might consider leaving a signed and witnessed statement with the Will (though remember not to staple, pin or use any other means to attach anything to the Will.)

If, for example, you deliberately omit one of your children from the Will but don't make any statement regarding this, the court might rule that this was an unintentional mistake on your part.

To get an entire Will invalidated, someone must go to court and prove that it suffers from a fatal flaw: the signature was forged; you weren't of sound mind when you made the Will; or you were unduly influenced by someone.

Often a dispute will arise because a Will is not clearly written or otherwise ambiguous. This again emphasise's the importance of keeping your Will simple and clear, and why it is better to write a new Will to reflect major changes in your life and circumstances, rather than making amendments by adding a codicil.