One of the reasons that people in Ohio write their will is to lessen or eliminate the possibility of ugly, drawn-out legal arguments erupting over who gets their assets after they die. If you make the distribution of what you owned clear in your will, hopefully, that should not happen. Still, someone may come along and decide to contest your will anyway, for that or other reasons. Are there ways that you can stop it from happening?
There may not be a surefire method of preventing will contests, but you can use a few avenues to make it a lot tougher for somebody to succeed or deter them before they even start a fight. Being aware of these deterrents may help you a lot later on.
One of the easiest and most obvious ones is to write your will at a point in your life when no one can claim you are not competent. With that in mind, don’t put off the task of making your will! Get to it now rather than years down the line. Even if you make changes to it at some point, at least you committed your wishes to paper.
Strategies you can use to make your will harder to contest
Here are some ideas from experts that you might want to consider:
- Think about having a no-contest clause (sometimes referred to as an in terrorem clause) inserted in your will. This clause stipulates that if someone takes issue with your will with a lawsuit, they can be disinherited.
- Tell those close to you, such as your immediate family members, what is stated in your will. Being open bout its contents can avoid surprises for them later on.
- You might want to create a revocable living trust.
- Keep your will up-to-date. That sends a message that it accurately reflects your wishes.
Consider seeking advice about making your will as challenge-proof as possible. The time and effort you invest doing this now can spare your heirs from enduring legal hassles after you are gone.
