Family Fights Over Inheritance – When ‘Fair’ isn’t always equal

Family Fights Over Inheritance – When ‘Fair’ isn’t always equal

Probate & Estate, Wills

Thinking about your eventual demise is not exactly something that people like to spend a lot of time doing. Despite this, planning for the future and the distribution of your assets to loved ones is a necessary part of ensuring that your wishes are carried out in the way you’d like.

By creating a clear plan for your final wishes with an attorney, you can ensure that complications are mitigated before they arise.

You will want to make sure that the ones you love are able to look to your will as a roadmap for settling your estate as quickly as possible. Losing a loved one can be difficult for anyone to deal with, by having a will in place, they will have the ability to spend time grieving rather than deciphering how you would have liked your assets divided.

CONTENTIOUS FAMILY SITUATIONS
At times, family can become estranged from one another. Disagreements or tensions can arise that make family relationship complicated. Sometimes, when a person passes without a will in place, family members may fight over your possessions. This can range from money, to valuables but also family heirlooms.

Grief can sometimes cause people to behave irrationally. They may be looking to hold onto things you once held dear as a way to keep your memory alive. By having an attorney draft your will, you can have a clear path to guide loved ones after you pass away.

Here are some examples of situations that are likely to cause heightened feuds within a family when a loved one passes away:

Giving a beneficiary a portion of their inheritance before you die but not others in your family who stand to inherit assets. Be clear in your will if this was actually the case.

You may want to make sure that you identify only one person to hold the responsibility of trustee. By appointing more people to manage your will, could put them at risk of disagreeing or fighting over how the estate should be managed.

If you are married a second time, or later in life, you will want to outline clearly who stands to inherit what. ALWAYS update your estate plan or will after any changes in marital status.

You will want to make sure that you are clear which of your assets can be sold and which you expect beneficiaries to cherish. Family members who are destitute or are in need of money are more likely to sell things that you would like to keep in your family.

UPDATE IT OFTEN
If you have disinherited someone within your family such as a child, you will want to make sure that your will is as updated as soon as possible. It is possible for someone who has been left out of a will to challenge it in probate.

UNDUE INFLUENCE
If the will being created is for an elderly member of your family, you will want to make sure that they are not swayed or manipulated into leaving someone an inheritance who is taking advantage of them.

SOUND MIND
When a family member suffers from substance abuse or a mental health disorder, their judgment will surely be clouded after losing a loved one. They are also more likely to sever ties with family members and act irrationally when it comes to making decisions based on your will.

An attorney can serve a number of purposes when it comes to your will.  Some people may even appoint an attorney to help manage the estate or act as executor after passing away. This can prove to be beneficial in situations where family dynamics are complicated. Having a professional, who is impartial, can help ensure that your wishes are carried out in the way that you would have liked. An attorney may even be able to help families navigate challenging familial situations when dividing your assets and carrying out your final wishes. If you need any legal help regarding wills, contact Attorney Charles Bendig for any information.

 
The Will may be unfair; but is it illegal?

The Will may be unfair; but is it illegal?

Wills

After Joe Albanese’s mother died in April 2016, he was shocked to learn that she had left a $560,000 home, its contents, the money in her checking accounts, and 82% of her assets to his sister. Joe’s adult stepdaughter, the apple of his mother’s eye since she was a toddler, was omitted from the Will completely.

​”To this day, we still don’t know the motivation behind her choices. Joe feels helpless in this situation” says Joe’s wife Barbara.

But is he?

While the chances of success are slim, a Will can be challenged in court.

 
What you need to contest a Will

Anyone who wants to revise a will after the author’s death must attempt to establish one of the following four legal grounds:

  • Undue influence – If the deceased person was aggressively pressured by someone to change the will, you have a case.
  • Fraud – If the Will’s author was tricked into signing, the Will is invalid.
  • Improper execution – If the Will was not prepared or executed properly under the laws of the state in which it was created, it could be thrown out in court.
  • Lack of capacity. If the Will’s author was not mentally capable of understanding the issues at the time it was created, the Will could be invalid.
Consider the Financial and Emotional Cost

Maybe you’re more interested in proving wrongdoing than in padding your own bank account, but it’s not worth pursuing a case if you’ll lose money even if you win.

If all you’re going to get is the balance of a checking account worth $2,000, and it costs tens of thousands of dollars to bring the case, the cost-benefit analysis doesn’t really justify it.

However, if elder abuse is suspected, a contester could pursue criminal charges against the offender. That avenue may make more sense than pursuing a civil case in which the cost is prohibitive.

In addition to the financial cost, also consider the cost to personal relationships. While feeling slighted by your late loved one – and missing out on inheritance — may be painful, the emotional stress of court proceedings can be just as grueling.

Contesting will likely affect your relationship with your adversary. A person who competes with a parent or sibling in court may win the judgment, but their parent or sibling may never speak to them again.

The decision is yours. If you have questions or need legal guidance,  call 614-878-7777 or click here.

Estate Plan Concerns of Unmarried Seniors

Estate Plan Concerns of Unmarried Seniors

Probate & Estate

Marriage and aging often trigger people to modify their estate plans. What about unmarried couples? We often think of cohabiters as being young, although over 4 million are over the age of fifty, 900,000 of whom are over the age of 65.

The trend follows a combination of factors including rising divorce rates, aging baby boomers, and more expansive views of relationships. Living together brings companionship, intimacy, dispels loneliness and may provide economic stability. Unlike marriage, living together does not interfere with government or pension benefits, it does not render your partner ineligible for Medicaid, and you are not responsible for your partner’s personal debt.

Now let’s address the unpleasant: One of you gets sick, hospitalized, or dies without having granted legal authority (power of attorney) over assets, bank accounts, insurance policies, and financial and medical decision-making. Unlike marriage, there is no “default” authority. Without proper documentation, unmarried partners could even be restricted from hospital visits.

The situation only becomes more complicated when the seniors have adult children from prior marriages. This trend emphasizes the need for couples to communicate with each other and their children about long-term care planning. Finally, marriage has both income and estate tax implications that should be discussed with professional advisors.

In many ways, cohabitation among older people remains improvisational. While estate planning is important for every adult, regardless of their age or marital status, older, unmarried couples should take special note to update their estate plans to reflect their specific relationship, as well as personal and financial goals.

It may be time to review your estate plan. Care for your loved ones and eliminate the additional stresses of probate and uncertainty.

Let’s talk about it. Call estate attorney Charles (Chuck) Bendig at 614.878.7777

What are the responsibilities of an executor under Ohio law?

What are the responsibilities of an executor under Ohio law?

Probate & Estate, Wills

While designing an estate plan, many people set up trusts to manage their financial affairs. A trust may specify a “personal representative.”  In this post, we outline the responsibilities of the “personal representative.”

Ohio Estate Disputes

If you have been appointed as a dependent administrator or an independent executor, you will have certain fiduciary duties. There is a duty of competency, a duty of disclosure, a duty of loyalty, and a duty of impartiality. These duties are intended to defend the interests of the heirs of the Decedent’s estate, the estate creditors, and the taxing authorities.

The non-exhaustive list includes:

– The executor/administrator should keep the heirs of the estate informed of the administration and use their best efforts to promptly collect the assets and administer and settle the estate.

– The executor/administrator must always be in a position to account for all revenue received, money spent, assets sold/purchased, and all other matters that directly or indirectly affect the estate.

– The executor/administrator must refrain from commingling the Decedent’s property with his/her own or that of any of your businesses or the Decedent’s business interests. Commingling usually is done with cash, and it is imperative that the executor/administrator does not commingle the Decedent’s funds with funds that are not part of the estate, not even for a day.

– The executor/administrator must not leave funds uninvested.

– The personal representative must refrain from self-dealing with any portion of the Decedent’s estate.

Compliance can be accomplished by setting up suitable estate accounts and managing the estate accounting in the manner detailed by your estate attorney.

Also, to help guide you through the process, Executor.com has created a list of the top 4 online tools for executors.