Improve Communication With Clients Who Have Limited English ProficiencyImprove Communication With Clients Who Have Limited English Proficiency

There’s a long-standing, generally held presumption that a testator executing a will knows its contents.¹ That venerable presumption is rebuttable.² Unclarity arises in determining the required standard of proof to overcome the presumption and whether that burden should always fall on the will opponent.³ Some jurisdictions discuss preponderance of the evidence, others “clear” or “satisfactory” evidence. All of these issues are exacerbated when the instrument maker was of limited English proficiency (LEP).

Given the influx of immigration, imported cultures and languages to court systems around the country, language proficient to understand a will’s contents remains a fertile basis for contests but rarely has been invoked in our appellate d...