Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: In Alabama, you have 6 months to contest a will that has already been admitted to probate, running from the date the will is admitted to probate.
How long do you have to contest a will in Alabama?
| Deadline to contest an admitted will | 6 months |
| What starts the clock | the date the will is admitted to probate |
| Dedicated will-contest statute? | Yes |
“Any person interested in any will who has not contested the same under the provisions of this article may, at any time within the six months after the admission of such will to probate in this state, contest the validity of the same by filing a complaint in the circuit court in the county in which such will was probated.”
Source: Ala. Code § 43-8-199
What makes Alabama different
Alabama layers a long minority/incapacity exception on top of the ordinary 6-month window: a minor or person of unsound mind with no guardian at the time of admission gets 12 months after a guardian is appointed or the disability ends, capped at 20 years after admission. The controlling authority is Ala. Code § 43-8-199, and the window runs from the date the will is admitted to probate.
A note on sourcing: Alabama’s own code site is JS-rendered and blocked automated access; this text is quoted verbatim by the Alabama Supreme Court in Bond v. Pylant (a primary-adjacent judicial source, not the bare statute), and the citation/statute existence is independently confirmed via a FindLaw mirror.
What happens once this deadline passes?
Once the window above closes, Alabama’s probate of the will generally becomes final and binding on everyone who had the chance to object, subject only to the tolling or discovery exceptions described above; a separate objection Alabama allowed at the original probate hearing does not reopen or extend it.
Sources
| Statute / rule | Ala. Code § 43-8-199 |
| Alabama courts (general reference) | Alabama judicial branch |
| Confidence | Medium |
Every statute or rule quoted on this Alabama page was read directly from the state’s own legislature/court/code site this session, or, where that site blocked automated access, from a reputable legal-citation mirror quoting the same official text with its official citation (disclosed below). General information, not legal advice; whether a specific contest is still timely can turn on facts (exactly when notice was given, how the will was probated, whether a disability applies) that only your own Alabama probate court file can confirm.