It’s not unusual for a family that has recently come together in grief over the death of a loved one to be divided by disagreements over the distribution of assets from the deceased individual’s estate. Inheritance disputes between siblings or other family members can arise if the deceased’s will does not distribute assets equally or if there is no will and California’s intestate succession rules leave some family members with no inheritance.
Avoiding family conflict over inheritance is a good reason to draft a will or trust that specifically states how you wish your assets to be distributed. Establishing a will or trust and distributing copies to the executor or successor trustee may forestall family fighting over inheritance. Having your will, trust and other estate planning documents in place will be helpful for the executor or trustee of your estate.
At Albertson & Davidson, LLP, our experienced trust and will inheritance lawyers deal with family disputes over the inheritance of property and other assets. In many cases, there are compelling reasons for a family member to engage a lawyer for guidance about an inheritance dispute and whether a will challenge is in order. But a lot of family fights are avoidable.
The attorneys at Albertson & Davidson are ready to help if you have a California inheritance dispute. Issues that often arise in inheritance disputes include questions of the incapacity of the person who made the will, undue influence, and fraud. Our attorneys focus on handling complex estate and inheritance litigation matters involving probate, wills, and trusts. If you have concerns about a recently deceased loved one’s will, trust, or estate, contact an attorney from Albertson & Davidson, LLP for help.
Understand and Deal with Your Family Dynamics
It may be that you’ll never get all members of your family on the same page, but proper estate planning can at least ensure that everyone has been advised of your objectives. Unfortunately, even beginning end-of-life planning can stir up family friction if discussions of inheritance begin and some family members’ desires are not being heard.
Consider casual conversations with family members, stating that you are beginning work on your will and that you intend to treat everyone fairly. If there are specific pieces of property that you know are of value and important to certain family members, state your plans if you have made a decision or float the idea that the disposition of those assets remains to be decided.
Fairness in Asset Distribution
Usually, if one family member is to receive an item of value, they would not get a share of something else to ensure a balance: “Barbara has always loved my diamond necklace, so she’ll get that, but the other three of you will split my IRA.”
Legal Document Preparation
If there are relatives you do not plan to include among your heirs, your attorney may help you draft separate memorandums describing your reasons, which should be signed, witnessed, and notarized. If it is your spouse who you would disinherit, this is very difficult to do without his or her consent. You would need to confer with an attorney and consider any previously executed legal documents, such as a pre-nuptial agreement or post-nuptial agreement.
When you have drafted the standard tools of estate planning – will, revocable trust, health care directive, financial and health care powers of attorney, authorization to access your medical information – you should be as transparent as possible. We suggest distributing copies of this information to each family member along with a letter of explanation.
In your cover letter, you may be able to head off family conflicts over inheritance by addressing individual expectations and explaining your consideration of certain relatives’ emotional attachments to certain heirlooms. Explain your reasons for any deviations from the equitable treatment of your prospective heirs.
You might convene a family meeting to go over your plans for the distribution of your estate after your death.
Your estate planning attorney should help you draft these documents and accompanying correspondence and attend the family meeting to help answer questions within the context of California law.
Regular Updates to Reflect Changes in Circumstances
You should also keep in mind that you and your attorney will update your will and trusts as necessary to incorporate life changes, such as marriage, divorce, births, and others’ deaths, that affect plans for distributing your estate. As changes or amendments are made, you and your estate planning attorney should distribute new documents as necessary, with explanations for recipients.
Clear communication of your intentions can help prevent misunderstandings and family disputes about inheritance.
Alternative Approaches to Avoiding Family Conflict Over Inheritance
You may opt to distribute the bulk of your estate through lifetime gifting before you die to avoid inheritance disputes. Lifetime gifting may also minimize or eliminate estate taxes. Your estate planning attorney should help you calculate how much you can give to family members while staying within annual limits – as well as maintaining your financial stability. This strategy requires a close eye on equitable giving if the objective is to avoid family conflict.
Another approach is to add a no-contest clause to your will. A no-contest clause in a will typically states that any beneficiary who unsuccessfully challenges the terms of the will forfeits any gift or bequest that the will grants them.
The clause would only be enforced if it’s shown that the beneficiary did not have probable cause to contest the will.
No-contest clauses are meant to discourage legal challenges to the contents of wills. Adding one to your will might be enough to keep an unhappy family member from escalating an inheritance dispute.
Get in Touch With an Experienced California Inheritance Dispute Lawyer
In some inheritance disputes, there are valid reasons to challenge the contents of a loved one’s will or trust. At Albertson & Davidson, LLP, our skilled attorneys help individuals fight for their inheritances in the face of lack of mental capacity, fraud, financial elder abuse, and/or undue influence. We are aggressive trial attorneys who focus solely on complex probate, trust, and estate cases that threaten our clients’ inheritances and financial futures.
If you have reason to contest a will or trust in California, the attorneys at Albertson & Davidson, LLP can help you. We have extensive probate litigation experience throughout California and have recovered more than $130 million for our clients through negotiated settlements and jury verdicts. Contact us online today or by calling (800) 601-0170. We stand. We fight. We win.
