[00:10] Welcome to a new episode of "Just A Minute" by Landmark Law. This episode is presented to you by Vicki on June 16, 2023 to help educate our listeners on various legal scenarios.

[00:24] Today's episode will be on A Will Challeng. A will challenge is where someone disputes the validity of the last will and testament of a diseased.

[00:32] There are various reasons to challenge a will. You can challenge a will if you have a standing in a case. Standing means that you are the person with a financial interest in the case. Generally, those are spouses, dependents and adult children.

[00:47] In Ontario, the Rules of Civil Procedure provides anyone with a financial interest in an estate to contest the validity of a will. An estate trustee, a beneficiary, or any person who has a financial interest in an estate may make an application to the court to challenge a will. Generally, the will-maker is legally capable of disposing of assets by will and understands and approves of the contents of the will.

[01:14] The will-maker must be of sound mind and remember those who might expect to benefit or potentially make a claim under the will. Also, the will is signed on a timely basis and there is compliance with the statutory formalities for signing the will.

[01:30] The common reasons for a will challenge are lack of approval/knowledge of the contents of the will, lack of testamentary capacity, lack of necessary capacity to change the will, presence of undue influence, non-compliance with the requirements of undue execution, and mistakes, fraud and public policy reason. Landmark law may assist in will related matters. Please feel free to book a 30 minute consultation with us today at landmarklaw.ca/book.