Wills, Estates & Trusts
Sep. 24, 2026
Beyond probable cause: When no-contest clauses are strictly enforced
For beneficiaries considering a challenge to an estate plan, the substantive strength of a claim may not be enough to protect an inheritance from forfeiture.
No-contest clauses in a decedent's estate plan present beneficiaries with a consequential choice: if they challenge an estate plan or otherwise engage in prohibited activity covered by the plan's no-contest clause, then they risk forfeiting their inheritance. California law generally tempers that risk by exempting certain contests that are supported by probable cause from the reach of a no-contest clause. But that protection is not absolute; there are several instances in whi...
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