When Your Will Is Contested, Talk Back!

"A small but growing number of states," writes Anne Tergesen in The Wall Street Journal ($), "are enacting laws you can use to force individuals to file legal contests while you're still alive and able to defend your estate plans in court."

If you don't live in those states, your will still could be questioned when probated in your home state. Safest bet: a simple pour-over will linked to a living trust set up in Alaska, Delaware or Nevada.