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Courts are often reluctant to enforce no-contest clauses in estate and probate matters. As noted in our prior alert on the Connecticut Appellate Court case Salce v. Cardello, even where the terms of the no-contest clause appear to have been breached, the enforcement of a no-contest clause can be a wildcard, especially where a Probate Court can cite its “equitable” powers to fashion an outcome. However, a recent California case provides an illustration of a court enforcing a no-contest clause, based on a beneficiary’s procedural misstep, and not on the merits or substance of the challenge itself.

To read more about this case, click the PDF below.