If you believe something may be wrong with a loved one’s will or trust, you may wonder if you can do anything about it. In fact, you can contest a will or trust in California to formally challenge the document’s legal validity in court.
At Geremia & Cullen, PC, we help clients across California navigate the emotional and complex process of contesting wills and trusts. Clients consistently praise our responsiveness, clarity, and success in resolving disputes, often through alternative dispute resolution methods like mediation. We also offer contingency representation, which means you pay nothing unless we recover compensation.
Jump To Topic hide
What It Means to Contest a Will or Trust in California
When contesting a will or trust, you formally challenge its legal validity in court. In other words, you ask a judge to determine whether the will or trust’s creator (for a will, a “testator,” for a trust, a “grantor” or “settlor”) followed California law when they created the document.
After a successful contest, the court may:
- Discard the document,
- Remove certain provisions, or
- Reinstate an earlier legally valid version of the document.
Although a will or trust challenge requires filing papers with a court, you can still settle outside the courtroom.
When Can You Contest a Will or Trust in California?
To contest a will or trust, you must have specific legal grounds—reasons authorized by law. Many legal grounds that a person can use to challenge a will overlap with reasons they can challenge a trust, including:
- Lack of capacity. Claiming that the creator did not understand what they were doing when they made the will or trust. For example, someone who had Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or another condition that impaired their judgment may have lacked mental capacity or not been “of sound mind.”
- Undue influence. Claiming that someone pressured, manipulated, or coerced the creator to change their estate plan in the influencer’s favor. Courts sometimes infer undue influence when the creator and alleged influencer had a confidential relationship, the influencer played an active role in creating the document, and the document reflects an unexpected benefit to the influencer.
- Fraud or forgery. Claiming someone tricked the testator or grantor into signing the document, someone forged their signature, changed the contents of the documents, or told the creator untruths that caused them to alter their estate plan.
- Revocation. Claiming the creator legally canceled or replaced the document before they died. Common forms of revocation include physically destroying the document, creating a new will or trust that expressly revokes the old one, or making a formal written revocation.
You can also contest trusts and wills based on how well the creator followed California law.
Grounds to Contest a Will in California
Apart from the overlapping challenge grounds, grounds to contest a will in California also focus on the strict legal standards surrounding how a person creates a legally valid will. To create a valid will, a testator must:
- Be 18 or older,
- Be of sound mind,
- Create an entirely written (typewritten) will,
- Sign the will in the presence of two witnesses, and
- Have those witnesses sign the will.
If the testator did not complete these steps, you may challenge a will for not being executed in line with the law.
Unique Considerations When You Challenge a Trust in California
Trusts can serve many different purposes, but they have four primary structures:
- Living—created during the grantor’s life;
- Testamentary—created after the grantor’s death;
- Revocable—grantor can transfer trust property back to themself; and
- Irrevocable—grantor does not have the right to transfer trust property back to themself.
Challenging a living, revocable trust, where the grantor may simply cancel the trust if challenged, works differently than less flexible trust types.
Think something feels off with a will or trust?
You’re not alone—and you don’t have to guess what’s legal. We’ll help you figure out what happened and what to do next.
Who Can Contest a Will or Trust?
California law only allows those with something to lose or gain from the outcome to sue, which is called having standing. You may have standing to contest a trust or will if you are an interested person, like:
- A named beneficiary in the current or a prior version of the document;
- A legal heir who would inherit under California’s intestacy rules if the document were invalid; or
- Others with a financial stake, such as a creditor still owed money or an omitted spouse entitled to a share by law.
Generally, you have standing if, in some possible legal circumstances, you might be entitled to share in the estate or trust.
How to Contest a Will or Contest a Trust in California
Contesting a will or trust in California involves a series of legal steps, including:
- Consult an attorney. An experienced will and trust litigation attorney can assess whether you have legal grounds to challenge the will or trust and guide you through the next steps.
- Gather preliminary evidence. Collect documents and information, like prior estate plans, emails, medical records, or witness names.
- File a petition in court. To initiate the contest, you file formal legal paperwork identifying the document being challenged, your legal grounds for contesting it, and what you are asking the court to do.
- Serve notice to interested parties. You must notify all potentially affected individuals about the challenge.
- Continue building your case. After filing, both sides can use the discovery process to request documents, ask questions, and consult experts.
- Attend mediation. Most disputes settle through mediation, where a neutral third party works with those involved to reach cooperative solutions, which can save time, reduce fees, and avoid the emotional strain of a trial.
If settlement fails, the case may go to trial, where a judge decides whether to uphold or invalidate the document.
Protecting Your Rights with Geremia & Cullen
If you need help challenging a will or trust or responding to a challenge to a will or trust, our team at Geremia & Cullen is here to help. We listen to our clients, guide them through the legal process with clarity, and fight to protect their rights while saving time and money through alternative dispute resolution processes. We also offer contingency representation, depending on client needs.
Contact Geremia & Cullen today to schedule a consultation.
