You may have heard that leaving someone $1 in your will prevents that person from challenging your estate plan after you die. You may also assume that using a trust instead of a will prevents someone from challenging your wishes.
Neither strategy makes an estate plan automatically immune from a challenge. Maryland law allows certain people to challenge the validity of a will or trust under specific circumstances. However, simply disagreeing with your decisions is not enough to invalidate your estate plan.
Understanding when a challenge can occur can help you create an estate plan that clearly reflects your wishes and reduces the risk of disputes after your death.
What Can Someone Challenge?
A person cannot invalidate your will or trust simply because they dislike your decisions or believe they should have received more. A successful challenge must involve a legal issue with the validity of the estate planning document.
Depending on the circumstances, a challenge may involve questions about whether you had the legal capacity to create the document or whether fraud, duress, or undue influence affected your decisions. Maryland law also imposes specific requirements for creating valid wills and trusts.
Does Leaving Someone $1 Prevent a Will Contest?
No, leaving someone $1 does not automatically prevent that person from challenging your will.
In Maryland, a challenge to the validity of a will is called a “caveat.” An heir of the deceased person or person named as a beneficiary in a will or codicil may file a petition to caveat. Maryland allows a challenge whether or not the will or codicil has already been offered for or admitted to probate.
Leaving someone $1 may make it clear that you intentionally included that person in your estate plan. However, the $1 gift itself does not prevent someone who otherwise has the right to file a caveat from doing so.
Can Someone Challenge a Trust After You Die?
Yes. A revocable trust can help assets avoid probate, but that does not make the trust immune from a challenge.
Maryland applies the same capacity standard to creating, amending, revoking, or adding property to a revocable trust that applies to making a will. Maryland law also provides grounds for invalidating a trust when fraud, duress, or undue influence affected its creation.
A trust challenge does not follow the same process as a will caveat. Maryland instead generally requires a person to file a challenge within one year after the settlor’s death. That deadline can shorten to six months if the Trustee sends the person a copy of the trust and the notice required by Maryland law.
What About a No Contest Clause?
Some wills contain a “no contest” or “in terrorem” clause. The clause generally provides that a beneficiary risks losing an inheritance by challenging the will.
However, a no contest clause does not guarantee that no one can challenge your will. Maryland law provides that a will provision penalizing an interested person for contesting the will or bringing another estate proceeding is void when probable cause exists for bringing the proceeding.
Therefore, a no contest clause may discourage some disputes, but it cannot completely eliminate the possibility of a will contest.
Reducing the Risk of a Challenge
While you cannot guarantee that no one will challenge your estate plan, careful planning can reduce the risk of a successful challenge. Keep your estate plan current and make sure documents clearly reflect your wishes. This becomes especially important if you plan to disinherit someone, make unequal distributions, or make significant changes to your estate plan later in life.
Working with an attorney can also help ensure that you properly execute your documents and clearly document your intentions. Taking these steps during your lifetime can help prevent questions and disputes after your death.
The Bottom Line
Leaving someone $1 does not prevent that person from challenging your will, and using a trust does not make your estate plan immune from a challenge. A no contest clause may discourage some challenges, but Maryland law also limits when those provisions can penalize someone for bringing a proceeding.
You cannot prevent every potential dispute, but a clear, properly prepared estate plan can make your intentions easier to establish and more difficult to successfully challenge.
If you are interested in learning more about options to protect you and your loved ones, please call us to schedule an appointment. (410) 988-3973. www.TheCoxLawGroup.com
We look forward to working with you!
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This blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance on your specific situation, please consult an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.