Under Probate Code 16061.8 and 21311, as amended in 2010, a no contest clause may be enforced against a beneficiary of a will or trust if the beneficiary files a “direct contest without probable cause.”  A direct contest is one that alleges the invalidity of a protected instrument or one or more of its terms, based on one or more of certain enumerated grounds, including lack of capacity, menace, duress, fraud, or undue influence. Probable cause means that at the time the contest is filed, the facts known to the contestant would cause a reasonable person to believe that there is a reasonable likelihood that the requested relief will be granted after an opportunity for further investigation or discovery.  This decision holds that a petition plaintiff filed challenging the validity of an amendment and restatement of her parents’ intervivos trust on the grounds of lack of mental capacity, undue influence and fraud was a direct contest, even though it was filed long after the 120 day deadline for filing a petition challenging the validity of the trust.  Furthermore, because the petition was untimely, it lacked probable cause even if other facts known to the contestant might have supported grounds for relief.