Committed to Quality Justice
37 Sockanosset Cross Road Cranston, Rhode Island 02920
Get Directions187 Warren Avenue East Providence, RI 02914
Get Directions597 Broad Street
Central Falls, RI 02863
Quality Justice
Admitted to serving
all State and
Federal Courts
in RI, as well
as all State
Courts in MA.
Rui P. Alves
Contested Wills & Trusts
Probate Attorney in RI & MA
In the estate planning process, having a will or trust that is custom tailored to your unique situation and circumstances is necessary to avoid any confusion upon your death between heirs and the probate court. If there is a challenge to this you should consult a probate attorney to help resolve this issue.
Contact Rhode Island Probate Attorney Rui Alves for a FREE initial consultaion about disputes over Contested Wills & Trusts at:
(401) 942-3100 or EMAIL rpa@alveslaw.com now.
Contested Wills & Trusts
Even in cases where there is a Will or a Trust in place, the family members of a decedent often argue about who will get what. Feelings can be hurt by being left out of a Will for whatever personal reasons the decedent had, or feelings by the heir that they are not getting their fair share.
The probate laws in the State of Rhode Island consider these issues, and have set and determined rules and guidelines in place for resolving them with fairness and equity. You must first be able to state that the person creating the Will or Trust was influenced by another party in some way, or that they were lacking the mental ability to make decisions concerning their estate at the time the Will or Trust was written. The Court also has specific grounds (rules) for contesting a Will or Trust.
Grounds for Contesting a Will or Trust
You must have a connection to the Will or Trust and feel that you are being somehow harmed by its contents. You have to either be named in the Will or Trust and feel that you are not getting what you are entitled to, or not named but feel that you would have been if the person had died leaving no Will or Trust in place.
You must have a reason for contesting the Will or Trust that is legal and valid. This speaks to being able to state that the party executing the Will or Trust was somehow influenced to say or do certain things by another person, that they did not possess the mental capacity to execute the Will or Trust or to make their own financial decisions at the time, that there was fraud involved, or that a mistake was made.
You must have a reasonable belief that the deceased person was not of sound mind or that the Will or Trust was not executed according to state prescribed formalities. Again, if you feel that the testator, deceased person, was not of “sound mind” at the time the Will or Trust was executed, this would be grounds for contesting a Will or Trust. Wills and Trusts must also be signed in a very formal and statutory way. There must be two witnesses who also sign at the time the Will is made, generally most probate and estate planning attorneys will require that the testator signs each page of the document to prevent other pages being slipped in between or replaced with rewritten pages, and the entire document is also notarized by a third party not listed as a witness.
If fraud, mistake or undue influence exists, the Will or Trust will not be enforceable in whole or in part. If at any time the testator was influenced to make or change their Will or Trust to benefit a particular beneficiary, then the above instances exist. Undue influence happens when a beneficiary coerces the Will or Trust maker to make financial or estate decisions that will benefit him upon their death. Fraud occurs when one heir says or does something to discredit another heir unfairly or untruthfully. And a mistake happens when the testator included a provision in the Will that they did not intend to include, or if they sign the wrong will. In the instance of signatures the Court will sometimes make the revisions if the situation is a clear case of simultaneous signings with the documents being mixed up, as in the case of a husband and wife who simply sign one another’s Wills rather than their own.
Filing a tortuous claim against a beneficiary during the lifetime of the testator. You may also file a claim while the testator is still alive if you feel that you have a right to contest the Will or Trust and that the decisions of the testator are unfair to you as an heir. You must prove however, that the person receiving the property you think should be yours, somehow interfered with the creation of the Will or Trust in some way.
If you are in a situation where you are dealing with a contested Will or Trust, you will need the assistance of a professional probate attorney to help you navigate the Probate Court system and the laws that are applied in such instances.
If you or your loved ones are dealing with a Contested Will & or Disputed Trust in RI or MA contact Probate Lawyer Rui Alves for a FREE initial consultaion at:
(401) 942-3100 or EMAIL rpa@alveslaw.com now.
Wills & Trusts in Rhode Island and Massachusetts
Probate courts are divided by counties in the State of Rhode Island, however each court uses the same documentation and procedure depending upon the case. Though Massachusetts combines the Probate in with the Family Court, Rhode Island has a separate court system for probate, and there are 39 courts throughout the state.
An estate must remain open in the State of Rhode Island for at least 6 months, and can stay open for as long as it takes to settle the estate, but usually not more than 18 months for an average estate. If you are interested in avoiding the probate process entirely, you will need to have the sound legal advice and planning of an attorney approved estate plan.
Most estate plans designed to avoid probate procedure, will include the gifting of assets during the lifetime of the decedent, a Living Trust, and joint-tenant property ownership. Even in the case of a well executed estate plan, the trustee will still need to distribute the assets according to the wishes of the deceased, and a will is not the same thing as an estate plan.
If You Have a Will
The process of probate can be of a shorter duration, and less involved, if you have a will. With a will, a simple petition to the court to appoint an executor or executrix, together with notice to the heirs under the will, which can be waived if you are in contact with them, on good terms, and they opt to waive notice of the hearing, is all that is needed to begin the probate process.
Once the court has appointed the fiduciary, they are then responsible for taking an inventory of the assets of the deceased, and payment of all debts and taxes, and if necessary sale of estate assets, and distributions to heirs.
If You Do Not Have a Will
The complexities of probating an estate grow when someone dies without leaving a will, or intestate. Heirs will be determined by the court, and assets distributed according to statutory law first to the children of the deceased, then to the parents of the deceased, then to the brothers and sisters and their descendents. In the case of no will, the court will notify the surviving heirs of the court date and an administrator or administratrix will be appointed at that time. The administrator will have all of the same fiduciary duties as an executor or executrix.
In either instance, whether your loved one has left a will, or not, you will want the advice and counsel of a good probate attorney to help you file the correct paperwork on time, and to appear at hearings before the Probate Court with you.
If you or your loved ones are in need of Custom Wills & Trusts in RI or MA contact Probate Lawyer Rui Alves for a FREE initial consultaion at:
(401) 942-3100 or EMAIL rpa@alveslaw.com now.
Probate Court of the City of Providence
City Hall, 5th Floor
25 Dorrance Street
Providence, RI 02903
Providence Probate Court is located on the fifth floor of City Hall.The Providence Probate Judge is John E. Martinelli; the Clerk of the Court is Paul V. Jabour, Esq. Both are elected by the City Council and serve for a term of six (6) years. If the judge is unable to hear a particular case, the clerk sits in his stead.
Regular Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:30 - 4:30
Summer Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:30 - 4:00
This court has jurisdiction over the following types of case:
- Decedent's estates; this includes persons who have died with a Will (testate) or those without one (intestate).
- Adult Limited Guardianships, either of the person, estate or both.
- Minor Guardianships, either of the person, estate or both.
- Adult Adoptions
- Name Changes
Every City or Town in this state has it's own probate court, which administers these laws. Probate Court is a court of law established by RIGL 8-9; the operating statute for Probate is RIGL Title 33.