What is the effect of senility on a wills validity?
Don’t think that just because the deceased wasn’t as sharp as she used to be, or that because he was old and forgetful, it is sufficient to getting a Will thrown out as invalid. The person seeking to have the Will accepted for probate generally has to establish that the deceased was of sound mind and memory at the time the Will was executed. As you might expect, the people who served as witnesses when the Will was signed almost always say the deceased was of sound mind, knew where he was, what the day was, who his family members are, and knew that he was signing his Will. Then the burden often shifts to the person challenging the Will to prove it should not be admitted to probate. It can be very difficult, and costly to prove that the deceased was mentally incompetent, or made a mistake, or was subject to fraud, coercion, duress, or undue influence when he or she was making the Will.
That depends on when the senility occurred. If the deceased was competent at the time the Will was written and signed, later senility wont have any effect on the Wills validity at all. If the deceased was senile at the time the Will was made, the Will might be invalid, but this isnt a simple question. Don’t think that just because the deceased wasn’t as sharp as she used to be, or that because he was old and forgetful, that this person was necessarily legally incompetent to make a Will. The person seeking to have the Will accepted for probate generally has to establish that the deceased was of sound mind, and the witnesses to the Will signing usually say the deceased was of sound mind. Then the burden shifts to the person challenging the Will to prove it should not be admitted to probate because the decedent was not competent. It can be very difficult, and costly to prove that the deceased was mentally incompetent. The questions are: Did the person making the Will (1) Know what a will
