My mother recently died and a cousin informed me that my mother had recently changed the will and I was not to inherit her home. As an only child I was sole heir and over the past several decades supported my mother, made repairs on the house, paid her bills, etc. In the past several years her health steadily declined, was in beginning of dementia, and was not of sound mind and body. I have reason to believe that her godson, or one of her nephews, convinced her to change the will. Now she's dead and no one has directly addressed the issue of her estate with me nor who the new executor of the will is. Do I have any recourse as her only child to contest this new will and make a claim on the house?
First a matter of terminology. You are only an heir if she had no will. Otherwise, she decides if you are a beneficiary. And even a person with dementia can be competent to sign a will when it is signed. Retain an estates lawyer NOW. It is a large value and you need to act before the executor does and if possible before the will is admitted to probate.
Yes, as next of kin, you should have a right to contest the will. I agree that it is time to contact a trusts and estates attorney now.
You should receive a copy of the will or be informed of how to obtain one within 60 days of the will being probated, but there is no point in waiting.
It is not easy to successfully contest a will. Give your attorney a chance to assess the situation and advise you of the strengths and weaknesses of your case and the expense of litigation. Be prepared to absorb the cost of losing before deciding to proceed. Sometimes it is better not to litigate. Even so, it may be possible to negotiate a different distribution of the estate by mutual agreement with the other parties involved. An attorney is likely to be needed to accomplish this.
A person can give their estate to whomever they wish, children have no "right" to an estate. However if you think the will she had when she died is invalid due to coercion, undue influence, lack of mental capacity you may have grounds to challenge it and revert to the previous will. Proving this is extremely difficult although it would appear suspect for a person with a child, who during hte final days changes their will to family that is not as closely related. You will need witnesses and medical records at the very least to even begin. There is also a statute of limitations on a will challenge so act quickly if you hope to have any chance.
Your mother is entitled to leave the entirety of her estate to whomever she pleases. Nonetheless, there may be grounds to contest the will if you can demonstrate that the will does not reflect your mother's wishes or if there are other issues related to the signing of the will that render it invalid. For example, if you can demonstrate the your mother executed her will while being unduly influenced by another person (in other words that the will reflects the intent of a person other than your mother), then it is possible to have the will deemed invalid.
Whether or not you have any legitimate basis to contest the will is highly fact sensitive and something you need to discuss in detail with an attorney. Litigating a will contest can be an expensive proposition, and whether it is worthwhile depends on the facts and the size of the estate. To make these determinations, you must consult with an attorney and inform them of all relevant information
