The short answer
In many cases, yes. In Arizona and Minnesota, for example, a will can give a grown child a smaller share, or nothing at all. Feeling that a will is unfair is not one of the grounds for contesting it there.
A will can be challenged on narrower grounds, such as your parent's capacity to make it, or undue influence. Rules vary by state, and the deadlines can be short. If you think something was wrong, ask a probate lawyer in that state soon.
This chapter explains how things usually work in the United States. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and the rules where you live may differ. Before you act on anything here, check it with one of the people named at the end of the chapter.
What to do
- Get a copy of the will from the executor or the probate court.
- Write down, as plain facts with dates, anything that makes you think the will may be wrong.
- Ask a probate lawyer in that state, soon, whether you have grounds and what your deadline is.
- Ask the lawyer about any no-contest clause before you file anything.
- Talk to your sibling before you talk through lawyers, if you can.
What can wait
- Telling the wider family what the will says, or what you think of it.
- Deciding what the will says about how your parent saw you. You may never decide, and that is allowed. Finding out your deadline is the exception. Ask about it soon.
Who can help
A probate lawyer in the state where the will is probated can tell you whether you have grounds and how long you have.
A counselor or a grief group can help with the hurt, which a court can't. A faith community, if you have one, or a friend outside the family can listen without taking a side.
The rules, phone numbers and web addresses in this book were checked against the agencies’, courts’ and organizations’ own pages in October 2026. Where a rule differs by state, the book names one state as an example. Check anything you rely on with the office itself.
From Book 5: Siblings and the Estate
This page has the short answer and the closing lists from chapter 3. The full chapter explains, in plain words, what exists, what to ask, and who can answer. The book covers months 1 to 18 after the death.
Questions near this one
Other questions on related subjects, from this book and the others.
- What if I am estranged from a parent or sibling? Book 5, Siblings and the Estate
- One of us is in charge: what do the others have a right to know? Book 5, Siblings and the Estate
- What if one of us cared for Mom or Dad for years? Book 5, Siblings and the Estate
- Who is in charge if no one was named? Book 1, The First Month
Hear when Siblings and the Estate is out
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