A will is to express the desires of its writer, the testator, for
the inheritance of his or her estate. Similarly a trust, whether
created by a will or during the person's lifetime, is to be of the
settlor's (the person making the trust) own free rationale will. If
the will or trust does not truly reflect the settlor's or testator's
desires it could have been obtained by undue influence or the
testator or settlor may have been mentally incapable of making the
will. These are the two major bases for challenging a will or a
trust.
If you are a relative of the testator or settlor and would have
inherited under a prior will, you may challenge a will submitted for
probate. Even if the will has been admitted to probate, it is not
too late to make a challenge. Generally, a will may be contested for
up to two years after it is admitted to probate.
If a will is set aside, the estate will be distributed according
to any prior will, or if there is no prior valid will, the estate
will be distributed to the decedent's relatives pursuant to set
statutory formulas. For example, if a decedent dies without a valid
will, he had two children survive him, and no surviving spouse, the
two children will equally split the estate.