There are many cases where the beneficiaries of a will do not agree upon the contents of the will the testator has specified. In these situations they can contest a will. The general categories for contesting a will are that the testator lacked testatory capacity, was under insane delusion, was unduly influenced or was subject to fraud.

Testatory capacity is where the individual is presumed to have the ability to make the will. In a contesting case the conditions surrounding the complaint usually involve senility, dementia or insanity. If it is contested then there must be some way for the contesters to give proof of the inability of the testator. Even with proof it is often found in court that the testator had a ‘moment of lucidity’ and that the will is valid.

Unduer influence involves the implication that one person was taking advantage of the testator and exerting influence on the contents of the will. The most likely culprits to be accused of this are the spouse, parent, the guardian, the priest or church, the solicitor or the doctor. This is the most common form of will contest.

Insane delusion has been used to also contest wills where the individual is thought to have had a false concept of reality. This is different from testamentary capacity as an individual may be under an insane delusion but still have the capacity to make a will.

Finally there is the case of fraud. Typically this is where a deception has been made to gain specific gain. False representation is a typical example of fraud in will contest. The accused may have made a false statement of fact, they may have made a promise of future performance and the promise not kept or made a statement that they new to be untrue to mislead the testator.