Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: In Minnesota, you have the later of 12 months from informal probate or 3 years from the date of death to contest a will that has already been admitted to probate, running from whichever of those two events is later.
How long do you have to contest a will in Minnesota?
| Deadline to contest an admitted will | the later of 12 months from informal probate or 3 years from the date of death |
| What starts the clock | whichever of those two events is later |
| Dedicated will-contest statute? | Yes |
“No informal probate or appointment proceeding or formal testacy or appointment proceeding…may be commenced more than three years after the decedent’s death, except…a proceeding to contest an informally probated will…may be commenced within the later of 12 months from the informal probate or three years from the decedent’s death.”
Source: Minn. Stat. § 524.3-108
What makes Minnesota different
Minnesota’s formula is nearly word-for-word identical to Massachusetts’s, but Minnesota adds an express savings clause letting a special administrator be appointed even after the 3-year ultimate bar has run, so administration doesn’t fully freeze in every case. The controlling authority is Minn. Stat. § 524.3-108, and the window runs from whichever of those two events is later.
What happens once this deadline passes?
Once the window above closes, Minnesota’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 Minnesota allowed at the original probate hearing does not reopen or extend it.
Sources
| Statute / rule | Minn. Stat. § 524.3-108 |
| Minnesota courts (general reference) | Minnesota judicial branch |
| Minnesota (additional reference) | Minnesota.gov |
| Confidence | High |
Every statute or rule quoted on this Minnesota 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 Minnesota probate court file can confirm.