A will contest isn’t decided by whether the will seems unfair. A Tarrant County probate judge looks at a short list of questions, and the first two can end the case before anyone gets to the will itself.
If the answer to either of the first two is no, the court won’t reach the others.
Only an “interested person” can contest a will. The Estates Code defines that term by financial stake: an heir, a beneficiary, a spouse, a creditor, or someone else with a property right in or claim against the estate. A close friend or caregiver who isn’t named in any will usually doesn’t qualify.
Expect the other side to challenge your standing first. It costs them little, and if it works, the case is over. Find out whether you qualify before you spend money on anything else.
Tex. Est. Code § 22.018.
Once a will is admitted to probate, you generally have two years to contest it. There are two exceptions. A contest based on forgery or other fraud can be filed within two years after the fraud was discovered, and a person under a legal disability has two years after the disability ends.
Don’t treat two years as plenty of time. While the clock runs, the executor can close accounts, sell real estate to outside buyers, and spend money, and witnesses to the signing move away or forget. A contest filed in month 22 is on time, but usually much weaker than one filed in month 3. Filing early also gives you a better chance of asking the court to hold off on distributions before the estate is emptied.
Tex. Est. Code § 256.204.
Tarrant County has two statutory probate courts, both at the Tarrant County Courthouse, 100 West Weatherford Street: Probate Court No. 1 in Room 260A and Probate Court No. 2 in Room 150. New cases are assigned to keep the two courts’ loads even.
There is an exception. If one court has already handled a case involving the same facts or parties, a new case may go to that court unless the judge objects. And once an estate is in a court, everything related to it stays there under the same cause number, including later disputes over a testamentary trust and bills of review. If your family has been in court over this estate before, you may be in front of a judge who already knows the case.
Tarrant County probate courts’ local rules, Rule 1.03(a).
A party to a contested probate proceeding is entitled to a jury trial. Will contests often turn on ordinary questions a jury is comfortable answering: who was in the room, who drove the decedent to the lawyer’s office, and who suddenly had access to the bank accounts.
A jury isn’t always the right choice. It adds time and cost, and some cases are better presented to a judge who hears probate cases every day. Make that decision early in the case.
Tex. Est. Code § 55.002.
Special exceptions, pleas in abatement and similar pleas attack how the other side’s case is pleaded rather than its merits. Under the Tarrant County probate courts’ local rules, they must be requested and heard at least 30 days before trial. Filing the motion isn’t enough. Someone has to get it set and ruled on in time.
Tarrant County probate courts’ local rules, Rule 2.03(a).
We handle contested cases only. We don’t prepare wills, and we don’t handle muniments of title, small estate affidavits, affidavits of heirship, or uncontested administrations. A general probate firm can do those faster and for less. If nobody is contesting the estate, we’ll tell you.
If the will you are concerned about was admitted in Probate Court No. 1 or No. 2, we can tell you on the first call whether you have standing and how much of the two-year period is left.
The first conversation is short and free.