One of the main reasons that Hennepin residents are encouraged to get involved in estate planning is to help avoid the potential of discord over their asset after their deaths. Yet, in some cases, disputes may be inevitable, particularly amongst families that have strained relationships. Thus, if one wants to ensure that his or her wishes are carried out after he or she is gone, then it may require extra effort on his or her part to anticipate any potential challenges that may be made to the estate. Once those have been anticipated, then one can take added measures to combat them.
A California woman who passed away early last year appears to have had such foresight in anticipating the issues that would eventually arise with her trust’s disbursement. According to her final instructions, her gardener and several other non-family members are set to inherit a large portion of her multi-million dollar estate. Her daughter, however, is challenging the validity of the instructions the woman left regarding the final dispersal of her assets. Her claim is that the gardener took advantage of the woman’s diminished mental facilities and coerced her into adding him to the estate.
However, in preparation for such a challenge to her final wishes, the woman submitted herself to a psychological examination in order to verify that she was of a sound mind when she made these decisions.
While many will not have to go to such extremes to ensure that the provisions of their estate disbursement vehicles are carried out, it is nonetheless important that they do all that they can to make their final wishes as succinct as possible. An estate planning attorney may be a good source of advice on such a matter.
Source: The Santa Rosa Press Democrat “Battle over Marin inheritance spills into Sonoma County court” Paul Payne, Oct. 22, 2015