After gathering all the information from you, your attorney will file the contest in the appropriate court. Through your attorney, you will be able to present your side of the case. At the end of the trial, the jury will decide based on the facts presented in evidence.
After a successful will contest, there are two possibilities for what will happen next. If there was a prior will (a will executed by the decedent before the contested will) that will may be offered for probate as the last will and testament of the decedent. If there was no prior will, or if it has been lost or destroyed, then the decedent will have died intestate meaning without a will. In that case the court will look to the statutes dealing with people who die without a will and distribute the property according to law. That usually includes the people that you would think would be the beneficiaries of a person, i.e., his children, spouse and if there are none of those, his parents and if there are none of those his brothers and sisters, then nieces and nephews, etc. It is also possible that a family settlement agreement can be reached on the distribution of the estate.
Because will contest are time sensitive, it is urgent that someone who is contemplating contesting a will contact an attorney as soon as possible. There are decisions that need to be made and actions that need to be taken.
**By **Robert Ray a Texas inheritance attorney.
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This page is general information about Texas law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. These matters turn heavily on specific facts and specific dates, and the law has exceptions this page does not cover. You should not take, or refrain from taking, any action based on this page. Discuss your circumstances with an attorney who can advise you on them.