When someone drafts a will, one key component is that they need to be of sound mind. They need to understand their decisions and the importance of the estate planning documents. They need to be fully in control of their cognitive abilities, showing that they are making these choices of their own free will.
If this applies, it is known as having testamentary capacity. Issues with this can sometimes lead to serious estate disputes and litigation. One reason that someone may challenge a will is if they claim that the person who wrote it did not have testamentary capacity at the time, meaning that the will may not be valid.
How can testamentary capacity be lost?
In rare cases, people will make intentional choices that could call their testamentary capacity into question. If someone is known to be using drugs or other addictive substances, that could be an issue. If someone was impaired by alcohol at the time that they drafted an estate plan, the details may not reflect their actual wishes.
But, generally speaking, issues arise when someone has a medical diagnosis for a significant disease or disorder. Say that a parent updates a will and disinherits a beneficiary, but it turns out that they have recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The beneficiary who was disinherited may claim that it was not intentional or that the person did not mean to do so, but that it was just a result of the degenerative brain condition getting worse.
When these types of estate disputes arise, it is critical that those involved understand exactly what legal rights they have and what steps to take.
