Iowa Supreme Court: You Can’t Adjudicate Validity Of a Will Before a Testator’s Death
Vernon Radda suffers from schizoaffective disorder and severe autism spectrum disorder. in 1989, Vernon agreed for his sister to be appointed as his guardian, and Washington State Bank to be appointed as his conservator. After Julie’s death, her husband and son became Vernon’s guardians.
In 2017, Vernon’s sister, Barbara, discovered that Vernon had executed a will in 1992 and another will in 2015. However, Vernon told Barbara he was not sure whether or not he signed a will, even though he remembered signing some documents.
Barbara and her husband subsequently filed a petition for declaratory judgement to determine whether Vernon had testamentary capacity to execute either will.
Vernon’s conservator argued that the motion should be dismissed because the claim was ripe since Vernon was still alive. The conservator also argued that Barbara and her husband lacked standing because no interest had vested.
Under the Iowa Probate Code, “[p]roceedings to determine the validity of a will and will contests must await a testator’s death. . .”
The Iowa Supreme Court stated, “we see nothing in the text of this statute that creates rights in a putative beneficiary or other third party to challenge the validity of a ward’s will before the ward dies, and we have never construed this statute to allow such a challenge.”
See Iowa Supreme Court: You Can’t Adjudicate Validity Of a Will Before a Testator’s Death, Probate Stars, March 2, 2021.