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District of Columbia Will Contests
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District of Columbia Will Contests

How a D.C. will contest works: a verified complaint under D.C. Code § 20-305, filed within 6 months after notice of appointment is published.

By Settled Editorial

In the District of Columbia, a person who wants to challenge a will files a verified complaint to contest the validity of a will in the Probate Division of the Superior Court. The deadline is short: 6 months following notice by publication of the appointment of a personal representative, under D.C. Code § 20-305. (Source: D.C. Code § 20-305.) The clock starts with the published notice, not with the death.

A will contest is a challenge to whether the document is a valid will at all. It is the wrong tool for a family member who simply expected a bigger share. The challenge has to rest on a defect the law recognizes, such as a maker who lacked capacity, a signing that broke the witness rules, pressure that replaced the maker's own choices, fraud, forgery, or a later will that revoked this one.

This guide covers who can file, the grounds, the deadline and what starts it, the shorter small-estate window, and how the case moves through the court. Read it next to what makes a D.C. will valid, since most contests attack one of those rules, and the District of Columbia probate guide for how an estate opens.

The Deadline: 6 Months After Publication

Here is why timing comes first. D.C. Code § 20-305 reads, in part: "any person may file a verified complaint to contest the validity of a will within 6 months following notice by publication of the appointment or reappointment of a personal representative under section 20-704."

So the trigger is publication. Under D.C. Code § 20-704(a), the personal representative must publish a notice of appointment within 20 days after appointment, once a week for 2 successive weeks. The form of notice the statute prescribes tells readers to file any objection to the appointment "(or to the probate of the decedent's will)" with the Register of Wills on or before a date 6 months from the first publication. (Source: D.C. Code § 20-704.)

Three points follow from that wording:

  • The count runs from the first publication date. The notice itself prints the "Date of first publication." That date, not the date of death, starts the 6 months. See the publication date that starts the clock for every other deadline it sets.
  • A mailed notice does not restart the count. Section 20-704(b) also requires the personal representative to mail the notice text to heirs, legatees and known creditors within 20 days after appointment. The contest window in § 20-305 still runs from publication, so a person who waits for a letter that arrives late can miss the deadline.
  • A reappointment brings a new notice. If a will is admitted to probate after notice was already given, § 20-704(c) requires a fresh notice of appointment or reappointment, and § 20-305 runs from notice of the "appointment or reappointment."

Sections 20-704 and 20-312 currently carry temporary text under D.C. Law 26-164, a temporary act effective until March 27, 2027. The parts this guide relies on (the 20-day publication duty, the 2 successive weeks, the 6-month objection date and the presumption of due execution) read the same in the permanent versions.

The 30-Day Window in a Small Estate

Small estates move faster. When the court directs notice in a small estate proceeding, D.C. Code § 20-353(b) sets "30 days from the date of publication of notice" as the period to object "to contest the validity of the will or the small estates proceeding or the appointment of the personal representative." (Source: D.C. Code § 20-353.) Section 20-305 opens with "Except as provided in section 20-353(b)" for exactly this reason. In the D.C. small estate proceeding, the window is measured in weeks, not months.

Asking for Formal Probate Instead

In abbreviated probate, D.C. Code § 20-312(b) presumes due execution of the will. (Source: D.C. Code § 20-312.) D.C. Code § 20-331(a) says an abbreviated probate proceeding "shall be set aside" if an interested person requests a formal probate proceeding within 6 months after notice of the personal representative's appointment under § 20-704. Under § 20-331(c), an abbreviated probate is otherwise "final and binding as to all interested persons," except as § 20-305 and § 20-331 provide. (Source: D.C. Code § 20-331.) In formal probate, § 20-324 calls for proof of due execution by affidavit of the witnesses unless the court orders otherwise. (Source: D.C. Code § 20-324.)

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Who Can File a D.C. Will Contest

Section 20-305 says "any person may file." A contest generally matters only to someone whose share would change if the will failed. The D.C. Code's definition of interested person, in § 20-101(d)(1), names the people who usually fit:

  • Heirs. People who would inherit under D.C. intestate succession if there were no valid will. An heir normally stops being an interested person once a will is admitted to probate, but the definition carves out an exception: "an heir is an interested person for the purpose of any proceeding to contest the validity of the will."
  • Legatees. Anyone named to receive a gift under a will, "whether such legatee's interest is vested or contingent." A legatee under an earlier will that gave more has a reason to attack the later one.
  • A named personal representative or appointed personal representative, who may need to defend or test the will.
  • Certain creditors. A creditor who has timely presented a claim over $500 that is not barred or discharged is an interested person, though a creditor usually gains nothing from a contest.

(Source: D.C. Code § 20-101.)

If an interested person is legally disabled, § 20-101(d)(2) lets a guardian, conservator, parent, attorney-in-fact or a court-appointed guardian ad litem act for that person, and § 20-108 lets the court appoint a guardian ad litem when a conflict appears. (Source: D.C. Code § 20-108.)

The Grounds for Contesting a D.C. Will

Let's break it down. Two grounds come straight from the D.C. Code, and the rest come from court decisions.

1. Lack of Capacity

D.C. Code § 18-102 says a will "is not valid for any purpose" unless the maker is at least 18 and, at the time of signing or acknowledging it, "of sound and disposing mind and capable of executing a valid deed or contract." (Source: D.C. Code § 18-102.) Capacity is measured at the moment of signing. A diagnosis or a bad stretch months earlier does not settle the question on its own, which is why medical records from the signing date and the witnesses' accounts matter so much.

The witness affidavit form in § 20-324(3) asks each witness whether the testator seemed "to be of sound mind and aware of what he was doing" when signing. A witness's "No" to that question, or a refusal to sign the affidavit, is often where a capacity challenge begins.

2. Improper Execution

D.C. Code § 18-103 makes a will "void" unless it is in writing, signed by the testator (or by another person in the testator's presence and at the testator's express direction), and "attested and subscribed in the presence of the testator, by at least two credible witnesses." (Source: D.C. Code § 18-103.) A will signed with one witness, or with witnesses who signed outside the testator's presence, fails this test. The D.C. Code has no exception for a handwritten will signed without witnesses.

Two related rules come up often:

  • A witness who is also a beneficiary. D.C. Code § 18-104(a) voids the gift to an attesting witness, and § 18-104(b) lets a witness who would have been an heir keep the gift only up to the intestate share. Under § 18-104(d), the witness still counts as a competent witness, so the will itself survives. (Source: D.C. Code § 18-104.)
  • Electronic wills. For an electronic will that misses the signing rules of § 18-905(a), D.C. Code § 18-906 lets the person offering it save it by "clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended the record to be" the will. (Source: D.C. Code § 18-906.) That harmless-error rule is written for electronic records under § 18-905(a). It does not appear in § 18-103.

3. Revocation

D.C. Code § 18-109(a) allows a will to be revoked by a later will, codicil or other writing executed like a will, or by "burning, tearing, cancelling, or obliterating" it with the intent to revoke, by the testator or by another person in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction. A revoked will comes back only by re-execution or a codicil showing an intent to revive it, under § 18-109(b). (Source: D.C. Code § 18-109.) A contest built on revocation usually points to a later document or to evidence the testator destroyed the original.

Hiding or destroying a will is also a crime. D.C. Code § 18-112 punishes anyone who, "for a fraudulent purpose," takes, destroys, mutilates or secretes a testamentary instrument, with up to five years of imprisonment. (Source: D.C. Code § 18-112.)

4. Undue Influence, Fraud and Forgery

These grounds come from case law decided by the D.C. courts rather than from a D.C. Code section, so this guide gives a short description of each:

  • Undue influence means someone overpowered the maker's free will so the will reflects that person's wishes instead of the maker's. Facts commonly raised in these claims include a caregiver or new companion who controlled access to the maker, helped arrange the drafting, and received a large share.
  • Fraud means the maker was deceived about the document or about facts that drove the gifts.
  • Forgery means the signature or the document is not genuine, which usually calls for a handwriting expert.

The standard and burden of proof for each come from D.C. case law, and how they apply to a particular will is a question for a licensed District of Columbia attorney.

How a D.C. Will Contest Moves Through the Court

A D.C. will contest generally moves through these stages:

  1. The notice and the will. The date of first publication sets the deadline, and the will the court admitted (along with any earlier will) frames the dispute.
  2. The verified complaint. It is filed in the Probate Division within the 6 months (or 30 days in a small estate). The complaint must be verified, meaning sworn.
  3. Notice to all interested persons. Section 20-305 puts this duty on "the person filing the complaint."
  4. Discovery and witnesses. D.C. Code § 16-3110 applies the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to the trial of issues in the Probate Court, including testimony of non-resident witnesses, unless the law provides otherwise. Under § 16-3103, the court can summon witnesses and use its contempt power when a witness refuses to give evidence. (Source: D.C. Code § 16-3110.)
  5. Decision. In a plenary proceeding, D.C. Code § 16-3106 has the court give judgment on the pleadings, depositions, or "finding of the jury." (Source: D.C. Code § 16-3106.)

What Happens If the Contest Succeeds or Fails

If the contest succeeds, the estate passes under an earlier valid will or, if there is none, under D.C. intestacy rules. If no contest is filed in time, the order admitting the will matters a great deal: § 16-3110 makes a final order admitting a will to probate, "unless and until it is reversed," conclusive evidence of the will's validity in a collateral proceeding.

Losing has a price. D.C. Code § 16-3112 lets the Probate Court "render judgment for costs against the unsuccessful party in any proceeding conducted in the court." (Source: D.C. Code § 16-3112.) Section 16-3106 adds that "in all cases of contest, the court may award costs to the party deemed entitled thereto."

Remedies People Confuse With a Will Contest

A Spouse's Renunciation

A surviving spouse or domestic partner who dislikes a valid will does not need to prove it invalid. Under D.C. Code § 19-113(a), the spouse or partner can file a written renunciation in the Probate Court within 6 months after the will is admitted to probate and take a legal share instead. Section 19-113(e) caps that legal share at the intestate share, "not to exceed one-half of the net estate bequeathed and devised by the will." If a suit to construe the will is filed during the 6 months, § 19-113(c) restarts the period when the suit ends. (Source: D.C. Code § 19-113.) See a spouse renouncing the will instead for the full rules.

Disputes About the Administration

A complaint about how the personal representative runs the estate is a different matter from a challenge to the will. D.C. Code § 20-107 lets an interested person petition the court "at any time" to resolve a question or controversy that arises in a supervised or unsupervised administration. (Source: D.C. Code § 20-107.) The D.C. executor duties guide covers what the personal representative owes the estate.

Contesting a Revocable Trust

A will contest does not reach property held in a living trust. D.C. Code § 19-1306.04(a) sets the deadline to contest a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death at the earliest of one year after death, 90 days after the trustee sends the trust instrument and a required notice, or 6 months after a published trust notice that the trustee also mails as the statute directs. (Source: D.C. Code § 19-1306.04.) The D.C. trust administration guide covers the trustee's side.

Why Will Contests Are Hard to Win

Will contests take time, cost money, and put family members under oath about a loved one's health and private life. The bar is high. In abbreviated probate, § 20-312(b) presumes due execution, and a challenger has to prove a defect the law recognizes, not disappointment with the gifts. Many contests fail, and the deadlines are strict. The factors that commonly decide whether a contest can go forward include:

  • Standing. Whether the person filing would receive more if the will failed.
  • A recognized ground. Whether there is evidence of incapacity, a signing defect, revocation, undue influence, fraud or forgery.
  • The deadline. The date of first publication, and whether a small estate's 30-day window applies.
  • Costs. The court's power to enter a judgment for costs against the unsuccessful party under § 16-3112.

How any of these applies to a particular estate is a question for a licensed District of Columbia attorney.

Related Guides

This guide explains how a District of Columbia will contest generally works. The deadlines are short and run from publication. For questions about standing, grounds or deadlines in a particular estate, consult a licensed District of Columbia attorney.

Sources:

It is not legal advice.

Information current as of October 5, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in District of Columbia can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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