"Standing" to contest a Will?

In order for someone to be able to legally challenge the validity of a Will in Ohio, the contestant must have "standing". In short, the contestant must be someone who would inherit from the person if there was no Will, or, the contestant must be someone named in a prior Will. Without this "standing" you do not have the right to contest the validity of a person's Will in Ohio.

The easy situation is if you are a family member, you have a better chance of having standing, although, not all family members will have standing to challenge a particular family member's Will. Here is a situation where a family member would NOT have standing:

Husband and Wife have Wills leaving everything to the other.

Wife changes her Will leaving Husband 50% and Daughter 50%.

Wife changes her Will again, leaving Husband nothing, Daughter 50% and Son 50%.

Under the above scenario, Husband has standing because he would inherit if there were no Will.

Daughter would also have standing because she is named in a prior Will.

Son has no standing and cannot challenge the Will for his father.

It is more difficult if you are not a family member because you may not know of the contents of the prior Will and may not know if you were named in the prior Will.

I have experience with, and have dealt with, these situations many times and I have a vast amount of experience in challenging the validity of Wills in Ohio. If you have questions about contesting an estate, or challenging the terms of a Will in Ohio, you may contact me at dan@zigraylaw.com or through the website: http://www.zigraylaw.com.

The Zigray Law Office, LLC
1690 Woodlands Drive
Suite 200, Second Floor
Maumee, Ohio 43537

Phone: 419-897-7999
Facsimile: 419-897-7982

Email: dan@zigraylaw.com
Website: www.zigraylaw.com