TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Nov 27, 2017

The Tennessee Supreme Court reversed previous rulings that dismissed a lawsuit contesting the will of a Hamilton County man who died in 2015. In a 2013 will the deceased, Dr. J. Don Brock, left behind a sizeable estate to his wife, two stepdaughters and two children from a previous marriage, but excluded five children from the previous marriage. The Supreme Court declined to adopt a broad rule precluding persons disinherited by successive wills from ever bringing a will contest. Instead, the court ruled that parties may establish standing to contest a will by showing that they would be entitled to share in the decedent’s estate if the challenged will, or challenged wills, were set aside or no will existed and the laws of intestacy applied. Justice Cornelia A. Clark authored the court's unanimous opinion.