Challenging a Will questions its validity.
Contesting a Will questions the fairness of its provisions.
Whilst each Australian state and territory has its own laws in relation to Wills, the
circumstances and processes when challenging a Will are similar across all the states.
Family members, dependents and beneficiaries named in a Will may distrust the Will’s
validity, alleging that it should not stand as the Testator’s last Will. They may suspect the
Testator lacked the capacity to make the Will due to mental illness, or that it was executed under
coercion or suspicious circumstances.
To challenge a Will an applicant requires ‘standing’, which essentially means they must have
an interest in the proceedings either as a beneficiary named in the current Will or a former
Will, or they are an eligible person on intestacy.