Every civil litigation has its financial aspect: at the very least, it’s the costs. Contestation of someone’s last Will is no exception.
What is included in the Last Will contestation costs
If you plan to contest a last Will, you should take into account your possible direct and indirect expenses. They will probably include Court fees, expert fees, bailiff’s fees, lawyer’s fees, notary’s fees, stenographer’s fees, maybe a private investigator fees, mediator fees, administrative costs (like transportation and accommodation, for example), loss of income or opportunities, etc. As particular amounts depend on both parties’ actions (if someone insists on pre-trial examinations, for example, or brings up some interim Court applications like safeguard orders, medical file access, seizure before judgment, provisional costs requests and so on), it is hard to predict a particular total amount to pay. In Montreal it may vary greatly in average from (roughly) $ 15,000 to $ 75,000 or more. As you can see, the calculation is very much approximate.
(These figures are brought up here mostly to let you compare the order of magnitude of possible expenses against the potential value of the Estate assets. Do not take them as any kind of an offer or promise, of course.) Allen Madelin Lawyers work on daily basis with Wills and Estates issues, consulting the clients and representing them in Courts. For details, please contact us by phone: 1 514 904 4017 or by email: [email protected].
