Contesting A Will In Pittsburgh: How An Estate Planning Attorney Can Help

The time immediately following the death of a loved one is often filled with intense emotions, and the estate administration process can exacerbate these emotions all the more. At the Temple & Frayer Law Office, we are fully aware of the heightened emotions that can be experienced at this time, especially when the conditions that have been set forth in the verbiage of a will do not reflect what the individuals who are involved in the process were expecting.

The family members and friends of an individual who has recently passed away often have a reasonable understanding of what’s to come during the official reading of the document. There are circumstances, however, when the stipulations of a person’s will do not express what was at first expected by the friends and family who are involved in the process. When this is the case, the will’s integrity and authenticity are understandably brought into question.

It is during the emotional time of the reading of the will that a Pittsburgh estate planning lawyer from our firm can be of great help. In the presence of an attorney from our office, individuals who are present during the reading of a will can express any concerns that they might have regarding the intention behind the document’s terms. If there is reasonable cause to doubt or otherwise disbelieve the conditions that have been set forth in the will that was read, the document can be legally contested.

Grounds For Will Contests

There are certain circumstances in which the executor of a will (aka the person who made the will and has since passed away) was not of sound mind at the time that the document was officially created. This type of condition can be as subtle as an individual who was not operating under his or her full mental capacity, and as drastic as an individual whose delusional mental state significantly inhibited his or her ability to make sound and reasonable decisions.

Perhaps the most highly argued point of contest when it comes to the contents of a will is that of undue influence. If it is believed that a close friend, family member, or even a caregiver manipulated the executor of a will into skewing the way that they would otherwise have distributed their assets to beneficiaries, the will can be contested. An executor who was put under duress at the time that his or her will was documented can also be a reason to contest the will.

Working With A Pittsburgh Estate Planning Lawyer

At the Temple & Frayer Law Office, your case can be served by a legal professional whose experience working in the field of estate planning and probate law extends all the way back to 1975. For more than 45 years, our legal services have been provided to members of the Pittsburgh community, and we are prepared to do the same for you.

If you have any sort of suspicion that a will might have been made under false pretenses, you can meet with a lawyer at our firm to learn about contesting a will in Pennsylvania. We are here to make sure that you feel both confident and secure in the way that your loved one’s will is carried out, so don’t wait to contact our office today. The legal support and advice that you need are only a phone call away at 412-998-1197.