A no-contest clause can be helpful if you’re worried about your beneficiaries getting into a dispute over your estate plan. You don’t want anyone to challenge the will. Your goal is to smoothly transition your assets to the next generation, and you don’t want the whole thing to get tied up in litigation in court.
By including a no-contest clause, you are essentially saying that anyone who challenges the will forfeits their inheritance. Say that someone expected to inherit $100,000, but you only left them $10,000. If they were to challenge the estate plan on the grounds that they should have received more, they would forfeit even the $10,000—so they have a financial incentive not to challenge.
A judge does not have to enforce it
One thing to note, though, is that judges do not always enforce no-contest clauses. This is especially true if it looks like there’s a valid reason for the challenge.
For example, say that a beneficiary claims there was undue influence. They claim that you didn’t want to include the no-contest clause in the first place, but that someone else influenced you to alter your estate plan to their benefit and then include the clause to prevent anyone else from stopping them. If the judge believes this is what happened, someone could still successfully challenge the estate plan on the grounds of undue influence.
Wanting to avoid future conflicts is wise, and it’s important to understand how all of the legal tools at your disposal can help you achieve these goals. It may be helpful to work with an experienced law firm at this time.