Everyone enjoys a freedom to leave his property to whomever his wish in his Will. However, after a loved one has passed away, we regularly see disappointment among those successors who feel that they were unfairly disinherited by the Will, or that their portion of inheritance is less than what were expected.
While being left out of a Will of a loved one is unfortunate, it is however may not be a legitimate reason to contest the Will. Legally speaking, a Will can be challenged for the following grounds:
- Want of due execution – where the Will has not been signed or properly witnessed;
- Incapacity of the testator – where the testator lacked the mental capacity to make a Will;
- Lack of knowledge and approval – where the testator had no knowledge of or had not approved the contents of the Will;
- Undue influence – where the Will was signed under coercion in which the testator’s will was overborne;
- Fraud – Where the testator was induced to make the Will by lies;
- Forgery – where the Will was forged;
- Revocation – where the Will had been revoked by marriage, divorce, subsequent Will or codicil, destruction, revival of an earlier Will or codicil, or by alteration or obliteration; and
- Where a Will has made no or insufficient provision for a member of the family or dependant, the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Ordinance allows the court to order reasonable provision to be made out of a deceased’s net asset for the maintenance of the applicant.
