What do you mean by: the grandson has "put a lot of things in my father's name."
What sort of things? And why?
As your 93 year old father is still with us and has no significant mental impairment, going by your profile information, your father can make a new will if he wishes to.
If the grandson has a problem with the ownership and distribution of property he believes to be his own, the time to address this is now. Anyone *can* contest a will, but why on earth do it that way?
Who would currently inherit the relevant property - I mean the property that belongs to the grandson but has been "put in your father's name" - as the will stands?
This is only my opinion but if something is in the grandfather's name, it his by law. I'm guessing that maybe the grandson has a car or something in his grandfather's name because he doesn't have permission to have a car in his own name due to fees that are owed. Something like that . The grandson has things in his grandfather's name because he is trying to hide something. Is this grandson on welfare? Is he hiding the fact that he has things that he doesn't want the government to know about? The power of attorney or executor of Grandpas Will should be made aware of this situation. If there are things in the grandfather's name that truly belong to the grandson than this needs to be worked out before Grandpa passes away. And the grandson needs to straighten out his own personal issues and leave Grandpa out of it.
I'm not a lawyer but have been through estate settlements, including one where those handling the estate botched it and we had to resort to using the court system to fix the mess they created. It is my understanding that any direct heir can contest the will, as long as they were left out of it. If they were included in it, even if left only $1, there is nothing they can do. However, the grandson isn't a direct heir. The parent of the grandson (your sibling) is the heir. If the your sibling has died, then they died before inheriting anything so this still leaves out the grandson, unless otherwise specified in the will.
As far as putting someone else's name on property you buy, it belongs to the person whose name is on it. Why in the world would the grandson do that?
Not sure I understand this comment "Because he put a lot of things in my father's name". What exactly do you mean?
As for contesting the will, regardless if they will either states that the relative was intentionally left out of the will, or is only left a pittance compared to the others the person can contest the will. Wills are contested daily for every reason under the sun. The best thing to do with investments is to name a beneficiary(s), those investments then will circumvent the will and go directly to the beneficiary.
"Because he's put a lot of things in my father's name but he's not in the will."
More details please. If he's added your father's name to anything that creates an obligation, or is binding, and thereby obligates your father to or for something to which he never agreed, you've got a likely fraud case here.
Is the grandson in fact a named heir?
If I were you, I'd focus on the alleged ownership issues before worrying about will contest. He could ruin your father's credit and standing if he's falsifying your father's name.
The real foolproof methods to prevent contest are to (a) identify someone in a will and add an "in terrorem" clause, or to (b) provide specific exclusion clauses.
(a) If the named individual challenges or contests the will, he/she will get the specified "inheritance": something like $1 or less. That's usually quite a discouraging factor.
(b) If the will contains language to the effect that the testator (will maker) recognizes that he has a grandson, but leaves nothing to him, that also should be a pretty strong message. The question would be, however, if state laws allow that disinheritance language in a will. Back in the early 2000s in my state, that kind of disinheritance mandated by law that the estate be transferred to a Living Trust.
Anyone can contest, just like anyone can sue but doesn't mean they will win.
"A lot of things in Dads name" I will assume that Gpa has cosigned for a car, took a loan out in Gpa's name for college, etc? If so, this could be mentioned, "Over the years I have been able to do for my grandson, John Doe. I count this as his inheritance." This should especially be done if other grandchildren are named in the Will to inherit. Now if there is a car still in Dads name, lets say, then he needs to leave it to John. Just because he has been driving it doesn't mean he owns it. I agree, that as a grandson, he really shouldn't expect anything. Usually, the children are the first in line.
There is a "trickle down" effect where if one of the children die, their portion will be split among that child's children. But this has to be written into the Will. I chose not to do it. If one of my girls die before my death, the other inherits everything. I may change this later since I only have 2 grandchildren with the same mother who is single. Unlike my Mom who had 4 kids and 7 grandchildren.
I read once that you should tell no one what is in your Will. They can be mad at you after you die. If u know for sure that he not inheriting the house, then maybe his Dad/Mom should make him aware of this now and why. But do this with permission from your Dad. If you think it will cause too much conflict for your Dad then don't do it. Let the chips fall where they may after Dad's passing.
IMO he can't contest a will based on 'think'.
Others will weigh in on your question.
What sort of things? And why?
As your 93 year old father is still with us and has no significant mental impairment, going by your profile information, your father can make a new will if he wishes to.
If the grandson has a problem with the ownership and distribution of property he believes to be his own, the time to address this is now. Anyone *can* contest a will, but why on earth do it that way?
Who would currently inherit the relevant property - I mean the property that belongs to the grandson but has been "put in your father's name" - as the will stands?
As far as putting someone else's name on property you buy, it belongs to the person whose name is on it. Why in the world would the grandson do that?
As for contesting the will, regardless if they will either states that the relative was intentionally left out of the will, or is only left a pittance compared to the others the person can contest the will. Wills are contested daily for every reason under the sun. The best thing to do with investments is to name a beneficiary(s), those investments then will circumvent the will and go directly to the beneficiary.
More details please. If he's added your father's name to anything that creates an obligation, or is binding, and thereby obligates your father to or for something to which he never agreed, you've got a likely fraud case here.
Is the grandson in fact a named heir?
If I were you, I'd focus on the alleged ownership issues before worrying about will contest. He could ruin your father's credit and standing if he's falsifying your father's name.
The real foolproof methods to prevent contest are to (a) identify someone in a will and add an "in terrorem" clause, or to (b) provide specific exclusion clauses.
(a) If the named individual challenges or contests the will, he/she will get the specified "inheritance": something like $1 or less. That's usually quite a discouraging factor.
(b) If the will contains language to the effect that the testator (will maker) recognizes that he has a grandson, but leaves nothing to him, that also should be a pretty strong message. The question would be, however, if state laws allow that disinheritance language in a will. Back in the early 2000s in my state, that kind of disinheritance mandated by law that the estate be transferred to a Living Trust.
"A lot of things in Dads name" I will assume that Gpa has cosigned for a car, took a loan out in Gpa's name for college, etc? If so, this could be mentioned, "Over the years I have been able to do for my grandson, John Doe. I count this as his inheritance." This should especially be done if other grandchildren are named in the Will to inherit. Now if there is a car still in Dads name, lets say, then he needs to leave it to John. Just because he has been driving it doesn't mean he owns it. I agree, that as a grandson, he really shouldn't expect anything. Usually, the children are the first in line.
There is a "trickle down" effect where if one of the children die, their portion will be split among that child's children. But this has to be written into the Will. I chose not to do it. If one of my girls die before my death, the other inherits everything. I may change this later since I only have 2 grandchildren with the same mother who is single. Unlike my Mom who had 4 kids and 7 grandchildren.
I read once that you should tell no one what is in your Will. They can be mad at you after you die. If u know for sure that he not inheriting the house, then maybe his Dad/Mom should make him aware of this now and why. But do this with permission from your Dad. If you think it will cause too much conflict for your Dad then don't do it. Let the chips fall where they may after Dad's passing.