Section 21310 Of Part 3. No Contest Clause From California Probate Code >> Division 11. >> Part 3.
21310
. As used in this part:
(a) "Contest" means a pleading filed with the court by a
beneficiary that would result in a penalty under a no contest clause,
if the no contest clause is enforced.
(b) "Direct contest" means a contest that alleges the invalidity
of a protected instrument or one or more of its terms, based on one
or more of the following grounds:
(1) Forgery.
(2) Lack of due execution.
(3) Lack of capacity.
(4) Menace, duress, fraud, or undue influence.
(5) Revocation of a will pursuant to Section 6120, revocation of a
trust pursuant to Section 15401, or revocation of an instrument
other than a will or trust pursuant to the procedure for revocation
that is provided by statute or by the instrument.
(6) Disqualification of a beneficiary under Section 6112, 21350,
or 21380.
(c) "No contest clause" means a provision in an otherwise valid
instrument that, if enforced, would penalize a beneficiary for filing
a pleading in any court.
(d) "Pleading" means a petition, complaint, cross-complaint,
objection, answer, response, or claim.
(e) "Protected instrument" means all of the following instruments:
(1) The instrument that contains the no contest clause.
(2) An instrument that is in existence on the date that the
instrument containing the no contest clause is executed and is
expressly identified in the no contest clause, either individually or
as part of an identifiable class of instruments, as being governed
by the no contest clause.