When an adult of 18 or older signs a last will and testament in Missouri, the assumption is that he or she possessed testamentary capacity at the time. This is a legal term referring to a person’s cognitive and mental health. If you possess testamentary capacity, it means that you are of sound mind and able to use critical thinking and reasoning skills to make decisions.
If you believe your loved one or another person whose will is relevant to your life was experiencing unduly influence or impairment when he or she signed a will, you may challenge the document’s validity based on testamentary capacity. To prove testamentary capacity, the following elements must have existed when the person signed the will:
If you have evidence to show that one or more of these elements did not exist when your loved one or other individual signed a last will and testament, you may have grounds to contest its validity based on testamentary capacity.
If you plan to challenge a last will and testament based on testamentary capacity, you must be able to substantiate your claim. In other words, the court will want to know what evidence you have that proves the testator was incapable of signing a will. Some of the most common issues that create testamentary incapacity include:
Aside from testamentary capacity, there are other issues that might make a will invalid, such as fraud, forgery or undue influence (like elder abuse or threat of violence). If you believe a will is invalid, you can reach out for additional support to investigate the issue and bring it to the court’s attention.
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