The world of people who can challenge a will has its limits. A person challenging a will must have some recognizable “interest” in the will, and while the definition and scope of that “interest” may vary by jurisdiction, a property right that would be affected by a will contest is often sufficient. In other words, if setting aside the subsequent will would put money in your pocket, then you likely have standing to challenge that will. But what about someone with no pecuniary interest in the estate, like a replaced executor? In Estate of Sobol, a California appellate court recently construed the scope of that “interest” under California law.
Here, the court dealt with a scenario in which Sonia Sobol executed a will that named Jay Rose as her executor. Sonia later executed a codicil