A decedent’s will may become the subject of a will contest, where its validity is challenged and brought under scrutiny.
Perhaps the document was executed by the will creator (called the testator) at a time when they lacked the requisite mental capacity to execute such a document.
Perhaps the testator amended the document as a result of undue influence or fraud.
Perhaps the document is suspected of being a forgery.
If you have determined that you have standing (i.e., the legal right to bring a contest) and the evidence needed to contest a will, what you may wish to determine next is: How much does it cost to contest a will?
The reality is that no two wills are alike, and that’s largely because decedents’ assets — and the instructions decedents provide in their wills for how these assets should be distributed after their death — can vary considerably.
As a result of these differences, there is no easy way to accurately estimate the average cost to contest a will. Nevertheless, this article will do its best to provide an average cost to contest a will by going over with you some of the factors that could contribute to cost.
Clients frequently inquire about contesting a will on a no-win, no-fee basis, otherwise known as a contingency fee arrangement. They essentially are asking if they could make an arrangement with our firm in which they only would pay for their will contest if our attorneys are successful in having the document at issue invalidated.
While there are benefits to contesting a will on a no-win, no-fee pricing structure, it’s not always the best option for every client, nor is such a pricing structure offered to every client. In this article, we will go over why this is the case.
Other questions our will dispute attorneys frequently receive relate to who pays to contest a will. Can the cost of contesting a will or trust be paid from the estate? Who pays if you contest a will and lose? Who pays if you contest a will and win?
The question of who pays to contest a will can be complicated to answer, as who is responsible for paying often depends on the outcome and implications of the contest.
If you are concerned about the cost of contesting a will, your best bet would be to get in touch with a qualified probate lawyer, who may be able to provide a cost estimate based on the specifics of your case. They, likewise, may be able to collaborate with you to devise strategies for achieving your legal goals that fall within your budget.
Does It Cost Money to Contest a Will?
If you are contemplating contesting a will, it’s important to keep in mind that filing a will contest is just like filing any other lawsuit. In other words, it generally will cost money that you may need to pay up front — unless there is another type of fee structure you can negotiate with your attorney.
Will contests that settle early can be relatively inexpensive, whereas contests that span months or years can cost tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, depending on the nature of the will contest.
While there is a possibility you could recover your legal fees from the opposing party or decedent’s estate at the close of your case, this is not a guarantee, nor should you count on this being the outcome.
For this reason, it’s crucial you examine your resources prior to bringing your will contest to ensure they are sufficient in covering the full extent of your potential legal costs.
How Do Attorneys Charge for Contesting a Will?
After reviewing the details of your case with you during your initial free consultation, our attorneys will be able to provide you with a fee structure for your proposed will contest.
Most likely, we would collect a retainer (i.e., an upfront payment) upon taking you on as a client and then charge you at our hourly rate going forward. If this is the fee structure we offer you, we will invoice you monthly, and you will be responsible for paying us all charges upon the receipt of your invoice.
In the rare instance we agree to work with you on a contingency fee basis, it would entitle us to a significant percentage of the inheritance we recover for you upon the conclusion of your will contest. For will contests that are resolved early in the process, our fee is generally one-third of the recovery. For will contests that are resolved midway through the process, our fee is generally 40% of the recovery. For will contests that go to trial or are resolved at trial, our fee is generally 50% of the recovery.
Although some will contest cases may lend themselves to a contingency fee arrangement, others may not. Generally, for a law firm to take on a case on a contingency fee basis, the strength of the case should be apparent from the beginning. However, it can be challenging to assess the strength of a client’s case early on, as clients have not yet had the opportunity to gather sufficient evidence to support their claim.
Most law firms would not agree to contesting a will on a no-win, no-fee basis unless they believe a potentially large recovery would outweigh the risk of losing. When taking on a case on a contingency basis, law firms are making a financial investment, which may or may not pay off. For this reason, when law firms are deciding whether to accept a case on a contingency basis, they tend to be more selective than usual.
No-win, no-fee will contests can be beneficial, in that the client won’t have to pay any money is up front; however, they are generally not a good option for a client whose potential share of an estate is not sizable, since contingency fees can be substantial.
If upfront costs are a concern for you, you may wish to negotiate a hybrid payment structure with your law firm that would spread the risk between both parties. For example, you may negotiate a payment structure in which you pay half of your attorney’s hourly fees in exchange for their taking a 20% contingency fee.
That said, if you can afford to pay your attorney on an hourly basis, it would almost always be the more financially advantageous fee structure, as it would allow you to keep the entire amount of your recovery.
What Factors Contribute to the Cost of Contesting a Will?
As we already discussed, the cost of contesting a will can vary significantly from case to case.
For example, if you are contesting a will because you believe the document is a product of undue influence, but the party you’re accusing of having unduly influenced the testator is aggressively defending themselves and refusing to settle, the cost of contesting the will could increase substantially, since a trial may be required to resolve the case.
On the other hand, if you are contesting a will because you suspect the testator lacked the necessary capacity to amend their will when they did, and testator’s physicians can provide medical documentation and testimony to verify your suspicions, your case may be cut and dried, leading to lower overall costs.
As you can see, there are countless factors that can contribute to the ultimate cost of a will contest. It’s important to understand these factors so you can make educated decisions as you navigate the will contest process.
How Much Does It Cost to Contest a Will if Others Join Your Contest?
We always advise our clients to share their concerns surrounding a decedent’s will with the other interested parties to find out whether they share similar concerns. If they do, it would be wise to ask them whether they’d be open to joining your will contest.
Collaborating with the other estate beneficiaries or heirs to bring a will contest could greatly reduce your own financial burden, since costs generally would be split among the contestants. It also could enable you to have more options if you litigate since your budget may be more flexible.
Remember that there are risks associated with a beneficiary abstaining from participating in someone else’s will contest. Abstaining could not only cause the bystander beneficiary to lose their seat at the negotiating table but possibly even their inheritance.
If you stand to inherit from a will, don’t abstain from participating in a will contest without first discussing your decision with a knowledgeable lawyer.
How Much Does It Cost to Contest a Will if Your Contest Is Complex?
It should go without saying that a complex will contest could substantially raise the cost of contesting a will.
A will contest may be complex if the executor of the estate is defending the contest, since the court may grant them permission to use estate resources to pay their legal costs. A will contest may be complex if a large amount of money is at stake (typically $1 million or more). A will contest may also be complex if evidence is not readily available, which could mean a far-reaching discovery process may be required to accumulate it.
There are many other factors that could make a will contest complex, but what’s important to remember is that the more complex your will contest is, the more it generally will cost.
How Much Does It Cost to Contest a Will if You Settle?
If you settle your will contest outside of court instead of taking your case to trial, your legal costs could be significantly reduced.
It’s not difficult to see why trials cost so much. For one, your attorneys may need to engage in a long and drawn-out discovery process prior to trial. Second, they will need to dedicate countless hours of their time to prepare for trial. Third, they may need to solicit the help of expert witnesses, who charge for their time. Lastly, you may have court fees to pay.
Conversely, if you settle at mediation, the cost of contesting a will could remain reasonable. Mediation entails a neutral third party leading negotiations between the interested parties and their attorneys outside of court. The goal of mediation is to reach a compromise that all the parties can get behind. The majority of will contests are resolved at mediation.
While using mediation to settle a will contest will almost always cost less than resolving a will contest at trial, when in the process the parties decide to settle is also relevant in determining cost. If you plan to settle, it may be more financially sound to settle early than to settle late, since settling late would mean your attorney would have dedicated more time to your case, resulting in higher fees.
It is not uncommon for a will contest to be resolved in a single session of mediation, but occasionally, several sessions of mediation may be needed to arrive at a settlement agreement that all the parties are on board with. The more mediation sessions there are, the higher your costs may be.
What Is the Average Cost to Contest a Will?
How expensive is it to contest a will? This is an important question to ask if you are an interested party seeking to bring a contest.
The cost of contesting a will can vary based on the size and complexity of the estate, the nature of the will contest, and on whether the contest needs to be litigated. Consequently, it is difficult to provide an estimate for how much a will contest will cost.
On the low end, and when litigating on a conservative budget,will contests can cost tens of thousands of dollars. On the high end, and when a case is complex and a substantial amount of money is at stake, they can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Clients should keep in mind that will contests tend to come with a high price tag. And if litigation is needed to resolve the case, the longer litigation continues, the higher the price tag will be — and litigation can go on for years.
If cost is a concern, it is important you speak with a will contest lawyer who is willing to work with you to devise a budget-friendly solution to your matter.
Who Pays to Contest a Will if You Win?
Who pays attorney fees in a will contest? Are there ways to recover your fees? There are no straightforward responses to these questions, as the responses will vary on a case-by-case basis, and often, you will not find out until after the contest has been settled or litigated whether your legal costs can be recovered.
Who Pays the Cost of Contesting a Will if You Are a Beneficiary or Heir?
Going into it, you should assume you will be paying for your will contest from your own pockets if you are a beneficiary or heir. If you win your contest, and the contest benefited the estate, you could file a petition with the court to be awarded your attorney fees and costs from the estate.
That said, it’s important to be aware that the vast majority of will contests settle before trial, so it may not be possible to recover your fees and costs from the estate unless the other interested parties to the action agree.
Who Pays the Cost of Contesting a Will If You Are an Executor?
Since executors of the estate can only bring or defend contests to protect the interests of the estate and its beneficiaries, they are generally entitled to use funds from the estate to pay for their contest. Executors, however, should keep in mind that they will have to seek permission from the court before using estate funds to contest or defend a will.
When Must the Opposing Party Pay the Cost of Contesting a Will?
The opposing party, or respondent, in a will contest could be held responsible for paying the contestant’s legal fees if it’s proven they engaged in wrongful acts to be named a beneficiary of the will in question.
For example, if you can establish that the opposing party committed elder financial abuse against the decedent by procuring the disputed will, you may be able to recover attorney’s fees from the abuser. However, keep in mind that the opposing party being held liable for paying the contestants’ legal fees is the exception rather than the rule.
Final Takeaway: Is It Worth Contesting a Will?
Whether the cost of contesting a will is worth it is something you will have to decide for yourself, because even if a contest has the potential to substantially increase the inheritance you have coming to you from a decedent’s estate, it may not be worth the financial and emotional cost. For example, are you willing to compromise your relationships with your family members?
It’s also important to think about how much money is at stake in the contest. If, for instance, the amount at stake is $100,000, bringing a contest may not be worth it since the legal fees on their own would likely exceed that amount if the case were to go to trial.
In our experience, there must be at least a few hundred thousand dollars at stake for your contest to be worth it. Your attorney can help you perform a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether bringing a will contest would be a financially sound decision for you.
If cost is a concern for you, you should speak with a probate attorney about whether there are less expensive options for contesting the will.
Learn more about the cost of contesting a will from our probate lawyers.
How much does it cost to contest a will? Who pays to contest a will? Is contesting a will on a no-win, no-fee basis possible?
Keystone’s skilled probate attorneys are standing by to answer your questions surrounding the cost of contesting a will. When it comes to will contests, timeliness is key, so don’t delay connecting with our legal team.
Call us today to schedule your free consultation.
