Probate litigation often relates to misconduct on the part of a fiduciary or concerns about documents. In some cases, family members or beneficiaries may believe that an outside party exerted undue influence on the testator, leading to imbalanced or unexpected inclusions in a will.
In those situations, it is standard practice to contest the will itself. However, even in cases where there may not be direct evidence of undue influence by an outside party, interested parties might be able to contest the inheritance of a witness who may have influenced the terms of the will.
What does the law allow?
Illinois state statutes do not mandate the use of disinterested witnesses. Testators can select anyone they want to witness the will signing. However, the use of interested witnesses can create a conflict of interest and raise questions about the validity of the will
An interested witness generally does not invalidate a will or automatically provide grounds for a will contest. Still, the law does allow concerned parties to ask the court to revoke the bequest made to the interested witness. In cases where a person who was one of the two witnesses for a will signing is also a beneficiary of the estate, it is sometimes possible to take the matter to court and prevent them from inheriting anything from the estate.
Those concerned that an outside party may have pressured or influenced a testator may have the option of pursuing probate litigation. Even in cases where a will contest isn’t feasible, litigation could prevent someone from wrongfully inheriting from an estate.
