Adam Keilen

An in terrorem clause in a will threatens that if anyone challenges the legality of the will, then that person will be cut off or merely given a dollar, instead of getting the full gift provided by the will. Recently, in In re Osborne Perry Trust, 2013 Mich. App. Lexis 321, the Michigan Appellate Court held that a beneficiary seeking a ruling for probable cause to challenge a will did not, merely by seeking such a ruling, challenge the will; thus, the challenger does not forfeit his interest by seeking such a ruling.