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Can you challenge an Alzheimer’s sufferer’s estate?

On Behalf of | Jul 18, 2024 | Probate & Estate Litigation |

It’s tough to watch a loved one go through cognitive decline. They might lose meaningful memories of time you’ve spent together, and it might become difficult for them to carry on a conversation with you. They might even struggle to live a normal life on a day-to-day basis due to their forgetfulness and their lack of understanding. While all of this can certainly devastate their quality of life, it can also have implications for the future of their estate.

If you have or had a loved one who suffers or suffered from Alzheimer’s, then you know these challenges all too well. And if you’re like most people in your situation, then you just want what’s best for your loved one. While this includes helping them live the best life possible under the circumstances, it also means fighting for what they envisioned for their estate.

Can someone with Alzheimer’s create a valid estate plan?

Yes, but the facts in play are going to be crucial to this legal determination. For an estate plan to be deemed legally valid, its creator had to have possessed the requisite mental capacity at the time the plan was created. This means that the individual must’ve understood the nature and extent of their estate and how the estate plan disposed of their assets. Although someone with Alzheimer’s might struggle with cognitive functioning, they can experience periods of lucidity that are sufficient to create the requisite mental capacity to create a legally binding estate plan.

What if you want to challenge your loved one’s estate plan?

If you think that your loved one who suffered from Alzheimer’s lacked the requisite mental capacity, then you might want to challenge their estate plan, especially if you think they intended to leave more assets to you than they actually did or if their distribution scheme is contrary to what they wanted. But to succeed on one of these estate challenges, you’ll need compelling evidence. This might include the following:

  • Medical records: Securing your loved one’s medical records can provide significant insight into the severity of their medical condition and their cognitive functioning near the time of the estate plan’s execution. This can give you an indication of whether they possessed the requisite mental capacity at the time they signed their legal documentation.
  • Witness testimony: There were probably several individuals who came into contact with your loved one at or near the time of the estate plan’s execution. These individuals can attest to your loved one’s mental state, ability to understand and remember information, and their response to the terms of the estate plan. All of this can be powerful evidence in your case, especially if such observations were made close in time to the estate plan’s execution.
  • Gift denials: If you and others have denied financial gifts from your loved one because of a belief that the loved one didn’t understand what they were doing, then you can use that evidence to support a history of testamentary incapacity. Just be sure you don’t accept a gift from your loved one, as that could be considered an acknowledgement that they do possess the mental capacity to appropriately determine the distribution of their wealth.

Build the aggressive estate challenge you need to protect your loved one’s interests

A lot of people who consider a will or estate contest are afraid that they’ll come across as greedy and uncaring of their loved one’s wishes. But this simply isn’t the case. In many instances, estate litigation is necessary to preserve a loved one’s interests as much as possible. So, if you think that there were issues in the creation of your loved one’s estate, including problems related to mental capacity, then carefully think through your next steps and whether legal action is justified.