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WO RDS : BE R LY D . N E L SO N, S e rk l a n d L a w F i r m
Worried your will may get challenged after you die?
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f you fear that someone may challenge your will when you die, you should consider taking advantage of North Dakota’s Ante-Mortem Probate of Wills statute. North Dakota has a seldom-used law that allows a person to essentially probate her will prior to death. North Dakota is one of the few states that have adopted these laws, but it is likely more states will continue to adopt these laws to combat the biggest problem with will challenges — the person whose wishes were written in the will is dead and cannot defend her own wishes against the challenge. As will challenges continue to be common, this law can give the testator (the person doing the will) peace of mind knowing that her will will be held up after she dies.
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:: areawomanmagazine.com
Use the example of when Mom decides to leave more to her daughter than her son, and the son knows that Mom is going to leave him less in the will. If Mom (who is mentally competent and acting on her own accord) suspects that her son will likely fight her will when she’s dead, because then she cannot provide the context of why she made the choices she did in her will, this process might be an option for her. While there are certainly pros and cons to this process from a legal perspective, the benefits to someone whose will likely will be challenged are vital. The process allows someone who has executed a will disposing of her estate to initiate a proceeding for a judgment declaring the validity of that person’s will. The will needs to be properly executed (witnessed, etc.), and any beneficiary named in the will, as well as all of the testator’s present intestate successors (meaning those who would benefit if the person died without a will, such as her children) must be named parties to the proceeding.