A will may be challenged a number of grounds including: 

1. Lack of testamentary capacity – at the time of making the will the deceased suffered from an illness such as alzheimer’s, dementia, mental illness or was taking medication which would have affected his/her judgement; 
2. Undue influence, Fraud, or duress – if the deceased given their age or health was placed under enormous pressure to make a Will they otherwise would not have made, or they were tricked into making the will. 
3. Failure to comply with the formal legal requirements surrounding the making of the will

Possibly two options dependant on circumstance: 

1. Reinstate an earlier Will, or  
2. It may be found that the deceased died without any will and leading to the estate being distributed on the basis of intestacy whereby statutory formula determines the appropriate beneficiaries. 

Circumstances where the deceased failed to make adequate provision (commonly referred to as a family provision claim) for such persons such as; 

1. A wife, husband or defacto / partner of the deceased; 
2. A former wife or husband or defacto or partner of the deceased – even if  there was a  family law  property settlement” dividing assets during the deceased lifetime; 
3. A person with whom the deceased was living in a domestic relationship when he/she died; 
4. A child of the deceased; 
5. A child of a person living in a domestic relationship with the deceased; 
6. A grandchild if she/he ever lived in the household of the deceased; 
7. A person who ever lived in the household of the deceased and was dependent on them including a parent, sibling, step-child and former de-facto spouse, friend , cousin etc.

The likelihood of succeeding and winning in a contested will claim and the amount which may be awarded is dependent on many factors particular to each individual claimant, the claimants personal circumstances, the relationship between the claimant and the deceased, the size and nature of the estate and the circumstances of the named beneficiaries and other claimants. No two cases are alike, and each claim must be assessed on its merits. 

A claim / proceedings must be made in the Supreme Court of within 12 months of the date of the deceased’s death. However, if 12 months has expired from the date of death, the court can give leave / permission to proceed out of time.  

If properly handled and when the Judge makes an order for provision for a claimant, or a matter is settled out of court, the estate will usually pay the claimant’s costs.  However, if the claimant is unsuccessful and the Judge makes no order for provision for the claimant, then the Judge may order the claimant to pay the executor’s costs of defending the proceedings.