Your father has died but assembled an estate plan to put your family at ease as to what should happen with his assets. During estate administration and the probate process, a few red flags pop up, leading to the beneficiaries questioning the will’s contents.
For example, maybe the biological children were excluded from the will and replaced by the stepchildren. Or perhaps a new and questionable document surfaced on the order of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes’s forged will be produced by gas-station owner Melvin Dummar. Regardless, you need legal advice that will help you resolve potential problems.
Disputes, incompetence and tomfoolery
Probate litigation is not uncommon. Disputes arise among beneficiaries who are not satisfied with the estate outcome. And sometimes, a will’s authenticity is in question or the executor mismanages the assets.
Here are some of the more common reasons that a person’s estate goes through litigation during probate:
- Executor incompetence and unscrupulous behavior: The executor is supposed to be a trusted and knowledgeable person. However, sometimes, they may not have the financial wherewithal to complete their duties, or even steal or misuse assets within the will.
- The entire contents of the will are challenged: The reasons may be because it was a forged will; your loved one was unduly influenced by others in creating the will; your loved one no longer had the mental capacity to understand the will; fraud was involved, or the will was not properly executed and lacked signatures of your loved one and witnesses.
- Challenging specific assets within the will: For example, these could be guardianship disputes and executor-fee disputes if you suspect overcharging.
Probate tests the patience of the people involved. The process can be expensive and time-consuming. And these traits can be magnified when disputes arise leading to litigation as the only resolution.
