Palm Springs Will and Trust Contest Lawyer
Palm Springs Will and Trust Contest Lawyer Sebastian Gibson
Call Palm Springs Will and Trust Contest Attorney Sebastian Gibson, For When Heirs Have A Dispute Over Their Inheritance
A will contest or trust contest is normally based on lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud, duress, menace, or mistake. It can also be contested on grounds of forgery. To pursue a will or trust contest, you should look for the best Palm Springs Will and Trust Contest Lawyer you can find.
Palm Springs will and trust contest attorney Sebastian Gibson has been recognized by Palm Springs Life Magazine as One of the Top Lawyers of 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011. He’s been called “Brilliant” and “A Legend.” If you want a top Palm Springs will and trust contest lawyer on your side, call Sebastian Gibson today at (760) 776-1810.
At the Law Firm of Sebastian Gibson we have experience in such will and trust contests and know what to look for in such cases. We also have extensive experience in resolving matters in a wide variety of cases by mediation which can significantly reduce the time involved in such a contest and the attorney’s fees and costs involved in pursuing or defending a will or trust contest.
With offices in Palm Desert and Newport Beach, Palm Springs will and trust contest lawyer Sebastian Gibson can assist you with a will contest or trust dispute anywhere throughout Southern California.
The question in such cases normally turns on whether the person who created the will or trust, the testator, had sufficient mental capacity to understand what they were doing. A court wants to know if, at the time they made or changed their will or trust, they understood the nature of their act, could recall their property and their descendants affected by the will, trust or changes to them.
A testator needn’t remember all of their property at the time they make or change a will or trust. But the failure to remember key pieces of their property such as their home is an indication of diminished mental capacity.
A party attacking the will or trust will often do so on the grounds that the testator suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia, or otherwise had delusions or hallucinations and did not know what they were doing.
A will or trust contest can also be based upon undue influence. This is conduct that subjugates the testator’s will to that of another. It’s not enough that someone had an opportunity to influence the testator. The influence must be such that the testator’s will was so influenced, they could not make their own choice. If the testator was mentally impaired at the time, this is easier to prove.
In such cases, the medical records of the testator are important to prove the testator’s mental condition at the time the will or trust is created or amended.
The law presumes that the person who makes or changes their will or trust is competent. The burden is placed on the party contesting the will or trust to prove they were not.
A will contest may be pursued by “any interested person” which includes the decedent’s spouse, their registered domestic partner, children, heirs, testate beneficiaries, creditors, and any other person having a property right in or claim against a trust or estate.
The greater the amount of money and assets in an estate, the greater likelihood the case may go to trial and after that be appealed.
Palm Springs Will and Trust Contest Attorney Sebastian Gibson Can Advise You In These Matters
If you suspect that a family member’s will or trust does not reflect the intentions of your loved one, Palm Springs will and trust contest lawyer Sebastian Gibson can take action on your behalf to begin a will or trust contest.
If another family member is contesting your loved one’s will or trust and you believe they have no grounds to do so, we can also represent you in defense of the will or trust.
In either situation, we can evaluate the facts and pursue litigation to protect your rights.
