What Does It Mean When a Living Trust is Contested?

What does it mean when there’s a contested trust? Why would someone contest a trust? We’ll go over all of that here. Keep reading for more information. 


A Contested Trust

A “living trust,” or a revocable trust, is an estate planning document that allows you to document how your assets are distributed after you pass away. If someone wants to contest someone else’s living trust, filing a lawsuit is required. Before filing a lawsuit, however, the person wanting to contest the trust will have to gather some important evidence. 

The documents you’ll need depend on the state you’re in, as well as the county in which you file your lawsuit. You’ll also have to have standing to sue—meaning you have some stake in the case’s outcome. 

Why Would Someone Contest a Trust? 

Essentially, a trust is contested when someone thinks it’s violating state laws. While (of course) these laws vary by state, there are three general things you could build your case on if you’re contesting a trust:

  1. Incompetence

A person has to be mentally competent when creating a trust. So, if someone believes that their mother was suffering from dementia when she created her trust, that person would need to provide evidence of her illness to contest her trust and win the case.

  1. Undue Influence

If someone believes that the person’s assets were distributed under undue influence, they might have a case. For example, if a sibling convinced a parent to leave their other siblings out of the trust, the other siblings could contest the trust. Again, there would have to be evidence of this. 

  1. Document Defects

In order for a trust to be legal and legitimate, the document has to meet certain requirements. This will vary by state of course, but some things that might make a trust illegitimate include:

  • Missing signatures;

  • Forged signatures;

  • And failure to have a witness. 

Need Professional Estate Planning?


Trusts and wills are complicated; there are a lot of specific rules and laws that can make this important task more stressful than it needs to be. If you need help or have questions about estate planning, reach out to us today!

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Writing a Will: Understanding the Basics