Contesting a Will in Alabama: Grounds, Deadlines, and Process

Contesting a will in Alabama is possible if you were named in the will or would have inherited under state intestacy law, and if you can point to a specific legal defect: improper execution, lack of mental capacity, undue influence, fraud, or forgery. The rules come primarily from Section 43-8-190 of the Alabama Code, which controls who can file, what they must allege, and how the case proceeds.¹ Deadlines are short and standing is narrow, so the procedural questions matter as much as the substance of any claim.

Who Has the Right to File

Alabama limits standing to two groups. The first is people named in the will as beneficiaries. The second is people who would have inherited from the deceased under Alabama’s intestacy laws had no valid will existed, which typically means a surviving spouse, children, and other close relatives.¹

If you would receive more under intestacy than under the will, you have a financial reason to contest and the legal standing to do so. A friend, neighbor, or charitable organization that simply disagrees with how the estate was divided has no standing unless they were named in the will or qualify as an intestate heir. This requirement screens out challenges from anyone without a real financial stake.

Deadlines You Cannot Miss

Alabama allows a contest at two stages, each with different timing.

Before the will is admitted to probate, an interested party can file a contest in the probate court where the will was offered. There is no fixed calendar deadline at this stage, but the window is narrow because probate courts can move quickly to admit a will once it is presented.

After a will has already been admitted to probate, a contest must be filed within six months of the probate grant, and it goes to circuit court rather than probate court. That six-month window under Section 43-8-199 is a hard cutoff. Once it passes, the opportunity is gone regardless of how strong the evidence might be. If you suspect a problem, act fast and consult an attorney well before the deadline approaches.

Grounds Alabama Courts Will Consider

The statute names improper execution and unsoundness of mind, then adds a catch-all for “any other valid objections.”¹ Undue influence, fraud, and forgery fit inside that catch-all. Your written allegations have to identify the ground; a general objection that the will feels unfair is not enough.

Improper Execution

Alabama requires every will to be in writing and signed by the testator, or signed in their name by someone else acting in their presence and at their direction. At least two witnesses must sign, and each witness must have personally seen either the signing or the testator’s acknowledgment of the signature.² Alabama does not recognize handwritten wills that lack witnesses (holographic wills) or oral wills of any kind.

Common execution problems: wills signed by only one witness, wills where witnesses were not actually present when the testator signed, and wills where someone else signed for the testator without proper authorization. These claims are often the most straightforward to prove because the defect appears on the face of the document.

Lack of Mental Capacity

A valid will requires the testator to have been of sound mind when they signed it. Alabama courts have interpreted this to mean the testator must have understood three things at the moment of signing: what it means to make a will, the general nature and extent of their property, and who their natural heirs are and how the will affects them.

Capacity is measured at the moment of signing, not at other points in the person’s life. Someone with early-stage dementia might still have had a lucid interval when executing the will, and someone generally sharp might have been incapacitated by medication or illness on the specific day. Medical records, testimony from people who interacted with the testator around that time, and expert opinions from physicians are the typical evidence.

Undue Influence

Undue influence means someone close to the testator used their position of trust to override the testator’s free will and steer the terms in their own favor. The Alabama Supreme Court has held that a presumption of undue influence arises when three elements are shown: a confidential relationship existed between the testator and the favored beneficiary, the beneficiary held dominant and controlling influence in that relationship, and the beneficiary was actively involved in getting the will drafted or signed.³

When all three elements are shown, the burden shifts to the person defending the will to prove the testator acted freely. That shift is what gives these claims real teeth. You do not need a recording of someone twisting the testator’s arm. Circumstantial evidence works: the beneficiary drove the testator to the attorney’s office, chose the attorney, was present during the signing, and received a share wildly disproportionate to what the testator had previously expressed. Combined with the testator’s vulnerability due to age or illness, that pattern can be enough.

Fraud and Forgery

Fraud usually takes one of two forms. The testator was tricked about the contents of the document, told they were signing something else or that the will said something different from what it actually said. Or the testator was fed false information that changed their decisions, for example, being told a child had died when they hadn’t. Forgery is more direct: the testator’s signature was faked, or the document was altered after signing. Both fall under the “other valid objections” language of Section 43-8-190.¹

How the Case Moves Through Court

A pre-probate contest starts with written allegations filed in the probate court where the will was offered. Those allegations must identify specific grounds.¹ The court then frames a formal dispute between the contestant and the person defending the will, usually the executor or a primary beneficiary.

Discovery proceeds much like any civil lawsuit: depositions, document requests, and in capacity cases, requests for medical records. The process can take months and, in complex estates, well over a year. A post-probate contest filed within six months of the probate grant goes to circuit court instead.

The Right to a Jury

Either party can demand a jury trial, and the right is written directly into the statute.¹ The jury evaluates witness credibility, weighs medical evidence, examines the circumstances around the will’s creation, and decides whether the will is valid. The judge instructs the jury on the legal standards, but the factual determination belongs to the jurors.

Jury trials add cost and unpredictability. They also give the contestant something valuable: a group of community members deciding the case on common sense and life experience rather than legal technicalities. In undue influence cases especially, juries can be perceptive about family dynamics and power imbalances that look less compelling on paper. The person defending the will may also want a jury when the testator’s intentions were clear and the contest looks like sour grapes.

What You Actually Get If You Win

Winning does not automatically send the estate to the contestant. The outcome depends on what was invalidated and whether any other valid will exists.

If the court throws out the entire will and the deceased had an earlier valid will, that earlier will is reinstated and controls the estate. If no prior will exists, the estate passes under Alabama’s intestacy laws as though the deceased never made a will.⁴

Partial invalidation is a third possibility. If the problem affects only certain provisions (say, one bequest was the product of undue influence but the rest reflects the testator’s genuine intent), the court may strike the tainted provisions while leaving the remainder intact.

No-Contest Clauses Change the Math

Some wills include a no-contest clause (also called an in terrorem clause) that threatens to disinherit any beneficiary who challenges the will. If you are named in the will and you bring a contest, you forfeit your share.

Alabama courts generally recognize these clauses, but they are not automatic. Courts look at whether the contest has a credible basis before enforcing the penalty. A number of states apply a probable cause exception that protects beneficiaries who had a reasonable, good-faith basis for their challenge even if they ultimately lose. If your will contains a no-contest clause, contesting and losing could mean walking away with nothing instead of the share you were originally left. Weigh that carefully before filing.

Burden of Proof and Cost

The contestant generally bears the burden of proving the will is invalid. That means more than a suspicion or a feeling that something was wrong. You need evidence: medical records showing cognitive decline, testimony from people who witnessed the testator being manipulated, documents showing the beneficiary was involved in the will’s preparation. In an undue influence claim, once you establish the three elements, the burden shifts to the other side to prove the testator acted freely.³ That shift can be the difference between winning and losing.

Contests are expensive. Attorney fees in contested probate matters commonly run from $250 to $800 per hour depending on complexity and the attorney’s experience. Court filing fees, expert witness costs, and deposition expenses add up quickly. Some attorneys will handle will contests on contingency when the estate is large enough, but many require hourly billing. The losing side does not automatically pay the winner’s legal fees in Alabama, so both parties typically absorb their own costs. Before filing, weigh what you stand to gain against what the fight will cost, and have a realistic conversation with an attorney about the strength of your evidence.

1
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 43-8-190 – Who May Contest Will; Filing Objections; Making Up Issue; Trial by Jury
2
Justia. Alabama Code 43-8-131 – Execution and Signature of Will; Witnesses
3
Justia. Hayes v. Apperson – 2002 Alabama Supreme Court
4
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 43-8-41 – Share of the Spouse