✓ Verified September 2026
To contest a will in Mississippi, you file in the probate court within a fixed window and prove one of a short list of legal grounds. This guide gives the Mississippi answer in plain English, and it starts with the deadline, because that is the fact that ends more cases than any other. All facts are from Mississippi law, verified as of September 2026.
In This Mississippi Guide:
Contest a Will in Mississippi: At a Glance
Here are the Mississippi facts that decide whether you can contest a will in Mississippi:
| Deadline to contest | 2 years (24 months) from the date the will is admitted to probate in common form (probate “without notice”) — Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-23. If no interested person appears within that 2-year window, the probate is final and forever binding. Exceptions written into § 91-7-23: a minor or person of unsound mind gets 2 years after the disability is removed, and in a case of concealed fraud the 2 years does not begin until the fraud was, or with reasonable diligence might have been, first discovered. Important Mississippi carve-out: if the will was probated in solemn form (with process/notice served on the interested parties under Miss. Code Ann. §§ 91-7-21 and 91-7-25 through 91-7-29), the decree binds everyone who was made a party and there is no separate 2-year contest period afterward — objections must be raised in that proceeding. |
| What starts the clock | Admission of the will to probate (entry of the decree admitting the will to probate in common form, i.e. without notice), not the date of death and not a notice to creditors — Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-23. Alternate triggers: removal of a minority/unsound-mind disability, or discovery of concealed fraud. |
| Who can contest | “Any person interested” may contest — Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-23. Mississippi courts define an interested person as one whose direct pecuniary interest will be detrimentally or advantageously affected by the probate of the will: heirs at law (intestate takers), beneficiaries under an earlier will, and beneficiaries under the will being contested. Creditors have been recognized as potentially interested in limited circumstances where the will’s disposition directly affects their pecuniary claim, but creditor standing is narrower than heir/beneficiary standing. Jurisdictional rule: ALL interested parties must be joined as parties to the contest — the chancery court has no power to proceed if an interested party is not before it (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-19, “All interested may be made parties”). |
| No-contest clause | YES, with a good-faith and probable-cause exception. Mississippi enforces forfeiture / in terrorem clauses, but the Mississippi Supreme Court adopted the exception in Parker v. Benoist, 160 So. 3d 198 (Miss. 2015) (2012-CA-02010-SCT): a contest brought in good faith and founded on probable cause will not trigger forfeiture. Applied again in Estate of Roosa v. Roosa (Miss. Ct. App. 2019). There is no Mississippi statute on point — this is case law. |
| What the filing is called | A “petition” or “bill” to contest the validity of the will (commonly captioned a petition/complaint to contest will, or will contest petition), filed under Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-23 in the chancery court of the county where the will was admitted to probate, usually in the existing estate cause number. Before a will is admitted, an interested person may instead file a caveat against probate under Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-21. The trial issue framed by the court is the issue of devisavit vel non (“will or no will”) under Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-29. |
| Court | Chancery Court of the county where the will was probated (the county of the decedent’s domicile at death). Mississippi has no separate probate or surrogate court — chancery courts hold original jurisdiction over wills and estates (Miss. Const. art. 6, § 159; Miss. Code Ann. § 9-5-83). Appeals go to the Mississippi Supreme Court / Court of Appeals. |
| Jury trial | YES. Mississippi is one of the few states where a will contest is a jury-triable exception inside an equity court — either party may demand a jury, and the chancellor empanels one to try the issue of devisavit vel non. Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-19 and § 91-7-29 (“Trial of issue devisavit vel non”). The right can be cut off only if the case is resolved on summary judgment under M.R.C.P. 56 because no genuine issue of material fact exists. |
| Typical cost | UNVERIFIED — Mississippi publishes no official cost data for contested will cases, and fees vary by county, by whether a jury is empaneled, and by expert (physician/handwriting) testimony. Chancery clerk filing fees are set locally by statute and are a small fraction of total cost. Ask the chancery clerk in the county of probate for current filing fees and consult a licensed Mississippi attorney for a case-specific estimate. |
The Deadline to Contest a Will in Mississippi
The window is short in some states and long in others, and it is measured from a specific event rather than from the day you learned about the will. That is why the first thing to find out is the date the will was admitted and whether you received formal notice. If the deadline has not run, everything else on this page is available to you.
If it has, the remaining options are narrow and usually involve proving you never got the notice the law required.
Grounds to Contest a Will in Mississippi
Lack of testamentary capacity (unsound mind at the moment of execution); undue influence (most commonly pleaded, especially where a confidential relationship plus suspicious circumstances exists); fraud (including concealed fraud, which tolls the 2 years under § 91-7-23); duress; improper execution / failure of the statutory formalities — a will must be signed by the testator and attested and subscribed by two or more credible witnesses in the testator’s presence (Miss.
Code Ann. § 91-5-1), with due execution proved under § 91-7-7; forgery; and revocation by a later will, codicil, or by cancellation/destruction (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-3). Mississippi also recognizes insane delusion as a capacity-based theory.
Who has to prove what: The proponent of the will carries the burden of proving the will’s validity and that burden stays with the proponent throughout the trial. The proponent makes a prima facie case simply by putting the will and the record of its probate into evidence; the burden of production (going forward with evidence) then shifts to the contestant.
On undue influence: the contestant must prove, by clear and convincing evidence, a confidential/fiduciary relationship between the testator and the beneficiary together with suspicious circumstances; that raises a presumption of undue influence, and the burden then shifts back to the proponent to rebut it by clear and convincing evidence — showing good faith, the testator’s full knowledge and deliberation, and independent consent and advice.
Capacity and ordinary execution issues are decided on the preponderance standard.
Who Can Contest a Will in Mississippi
“Any person interested” may contest — Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-23. Mississippi courts define an interested person as one whose direct pecuniary interest will be detrimentally or advantageously affected by the probate of the will: heirs at law (intestate takers), beneficiaries under an earlier will, and beneficiaries under the will being contested.
Creditors have been recognized as potentially interested in limited circumstances where the will’s disposition directly affects their pecuniary claim, but creditor standing is narrower than heir/beneficiary standing. Jurisdictional rule: ALL interested parties must be joined as parties to the contest — the chancery court has no power to proceed if an interested party is not before it (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-19, “All interested may be made parties”).
Being unhappy with the will is not standing; losing something because of it is. Check the earlier will and the intestate rules for Mississippi before filing, because they decide whether you are an interested person.
No-Contest Clauses in Mississippi
YES, with a good-faith and probable-cause exception. Mississippi enforces forfeiture / in terrorem clauses, but the Mississippi Supreme Court adopted the exception in Parker v. Benoist, 160 So. 3d 198 (Miss. 2015) (2012-CA-02010-SCT): a contest brought in good faith and founded on probable cause will not trigger forfeiture. Applied again in Estate of Roosa v. Roosa (Miss. Ct. App. 2019).
There is no Mississippi statute on point — this is case law.
The Steps to Contest a Will in Mississippi
Step one is the deadline check above. Step two is evidence: the medical records around the signing date, the names of the witnesses, the drafting lawyer’s file, and the financial records that show who benefited. Step three is the filing — A “petition” or “bill” to contest the validity of the will (commonly captioned a petition/complaint to contest will, or will contest petition), filed under Miss.
Code Ann. § 91-7-23 in the chancery court of the county where the will was admitted to probate, usually in the existing estate cause number. Before a will is admitted, an interested person may instead file a caveat against probate under Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-21. The trial issue framed by the court is the issue of devisavit vel non (“will or no will”) under Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-29..
Step four is discovery and, in most cases, a settlement conference; the small minority that reach trial are decided by a jury if requested.
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Settling Instead of Fighting
YES. Mississippi law favors family settlement agreements among heirs and beneficiaries, and chancery courts routinely approve compromises resolving will contests; where minors, unknown heirs, or unborn interests are involved, court approval (and often a guardian ad litem) is required. Mediation is separately available under the Mississippi Court-Annexed Mediation Rules adopted by the Mississippi Supreme Court, and a chancellor may refer a contested estate matter to mediation; M.R.C.P.
16 pretrial procedure also applies in chancery. Court approval of any settlement is the safe course because the decree admitting or setting aside the will binds interested parties.
Other Mississippi rules: (1) No ante-mortem / pre-death will validation in Mississippi — a will cannot be judicially validated during the testator’s lifetime.
(2) Two probate tracks: common form (without notice) leaves the will open to attack for 2 years under § 91-7-23; solemn form (with process served on interested parties under §§ 91-7-21, 91-7-25 to 91-7-29) is binding on everyone made a party and closes the 2-year window — a major planning point for Mississippi executors. (3) Self-proving is available but works differently than the UPC: under Miss.
Code Ann. § 91-7-7 due execution may be proved by affidavits of the subscribing witnesses annexed to or made part of the will, stating each witness’s address, and signed at the time of execution; without those affidavits, live testimony of at least one surviving competent subscribing witness (or proof of handwriting) is required, and Mississippi courts have invalidated wills where attestation could not be proved.
(4) Two attesting witnesses are required by Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-1; holographic (wholly handwritten and signed) wills are valid in Mississippi without witnesses. (5) Joinder of all interested parties is jurisdictional. (6) Jury trial as of right in the contest, unusual for an equity court. (7) Concealed fraud discovery rule is written into the limitations statute itself.
The Evidence That Wins or Loses a Will Contest
Capacity cases turn on the weeks around the signing: the medical chart, prescriptions, a dementia diagnosis, and what the drafting lawyer and the witnesses saw that day. A will signed in a lawyer’s office with two disinterested witnesses and a self-proving affidavit is hard to attack; a will signed at a kitchen table with the main beneficiary present is not.
Undue influence cases turn on the relationship — who drove the parent to the appointment, who chose the lawyer, who was in the room, and whether the new will departed sharply from earlier ones and from what the parent said to other people.
Improper execution is the narrowest ground and the cleanest: Mississippi sets exact witness and signature rules, and a will that misses them fails regardless of what the signer intended. Before you contest a will in Mississippi, gather the prior wills, the medical releases, and the names of everyone at the signing.
Most of that evidence has to be requested formally once the case is filed, and the deadline does not wait for it.
What to Expect When You Contest a Will in Mississippi
A will contest is a lawsuit about the document, not about fairness. When you contest a will in Mississippi, the court asks whether the person who signed it had capacity, signed it freely, and signed it correctly. It does not ask whether the split was reasonable. That is why the strongest cases rest on medical records and witness accounts from the weeks around the signing.
Most families who contest a will in Mississippi settle. Courts encourage it, many states have family settlement rules that let the heirs agree to a different division, and a settlement avoids the cost and delay of trial. The deadline, the grounds, and the no-contest clause above are the three facts that set your bargaining position before any of that begins.
You don’t have to do this alone
If you are settling a loved one’s estate in Mississippi, your state’s probate court self-help center and free legal-aid offices can walk you through the process at no cost. For an active probate or a deadline, talk to a licensed probate attorney in your state.
Key Takeaways: Contest a Will in Mississippi
- The deadline is everything: the window to contest a will in Mississippi closes on a fixed schedule, and the court cannot reopen it for a late but valid claim.
- Grounds are specific: you contest a will in Mississippi on capacity, undue influence, fraud, duress, or bad execution, never on unfairness alone.
- Standing first: only an interested person can contest a will in Mississippi; check whether you inherit under the prior will or the intestate rules.
- Read the no-contest clause: whether the state enforces it decides how much risk it takes to contest a will in Mississippi.
- Evidence is medical and financial: records, witnesses to the signing, and the drafting lawyer’s file decide most cases when you contest a will in Mississippi.
- Settlement is common: most families who contest a will in Mississippi settle before trial, often through the state’s family settlement rules.
- Find the admission date: the day the will was admitted is the day the clock to contest a will in Mississippi usually starts.
- Prior wills matter twice: they give you standing to contest a will in Mississippi and show how far the last will departed from the pattern.
- Notice defects are a lifeline: if you never got the required notice, you may still contest a will in Mississippi after the ordinary deadline.
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Official Mississippi Sources & Resources
- Mississippi Probate Court: https://courts.ms.gov/trialcourts/chancerycourt/chancerycourt.php (State of Mississippi Judiciary — Chancery Courts; county chancery clerk offices publish local probate filing requirements)
- Mississippi Will Contest Statute: https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/chapter-7/division-general-provisions/ (full text of Miss. Code Ann. §§ 91-7-19, 91-7-21, 91-7-23, 91-7-29; the Mississippi Code of 1972 is published officially for the Legislature at https://www.legislature.ms.gov/)
- Internal Revenue Service — Estate Tax: irs.gov
- Cornell Legal Information Institute: law.cornell.edu/wex
This Mississippi guide was last verified against official sources in September 2026. Laws change — verify with your state court or a licensed attorney.
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Disclaimer: This guide is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Estate, probate, and tax laws change and vary by state and county. Verify current rules and dollar figures with your state’s court, statute, or a licensed attorney or tax professional before acting. For urgent matters like an active probate or a tax deadline, consult a licensed professional in your state right away.