When may a will be denied probate due to a mistake?

• A. The mistake concerns extraneous facts that would have changed the disposition
• B. The mistake affects the decedent's testamentary intentions
• C. The decedent was mistaken about the value of assets
• D. The judge determines the mistake was clerical

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that probate hinges on whether the will truly expresses the decedent’s testamentary intentions. If a mistake changes what the testator actually intended to do with the disposition—so the written instrument no longer reflects the testator’s true wishes—the document may fail to probate because it doesn’t represent the decedent’s instructions. Mistakes about the value of assets or about extraneous facts outside what the will says typically don’t render the will invalid in the same way; extraneous facts aren’t used to override the will’s terms, and clerical errors are usually correctable by the court. So the best choice is the one where the error affects what the decedent intended to accomplish in the will.