Category Archives: Probate
Conflict Management for Personal Representatives of Family Estates
Being the person that an elderly family member chooses in their will as personal representative of their estate can be both an honor and a burden. On the one hand, you want to repay your parents for the love and trust they have shown you throughout your life by honoring their wishes about what… Read More »
Disinherited Son Challenges Validity of Late Father’s Marriage in Probate Feud Over Family Trust
For the most part, you have the freedom to leave all or part of your estate to anyone you choose. Family members who get nothing from your estate, according to your will, might be upset, but the court will respect your wishes unless the disinherited relative can prove that the will is invalid or… Read More »
Renunciation of Beneficial Interest in Probate Disputes
When the estate of a deceased person goes through probate, notices that the estate is open for probate appear in news outlets, and anyone who doubts that authenticity or correctness of the deceased person’s will may challenge it. Challenging a will in probate is not so simple that anyone with a frivolous claim can… Read More »
Some Seniors Who Want to Keep Their Independence While Staying Close to Family Choose Granny Pods
Planning for your retirement years involves a lot more than just deciding what to do with your money. You must make difficult decisions about how the process of moving to a nursing home or assisted living facility will work if you need it, as well as deciding who you trust to make financial and… Read More »
When Trusted Family Members Ruin Seniors’ Finances
When most of us hear about financial abuse of seniors, we usually think of a charming new friend of paramour who moved in on a lonely, vulnerable elderly person and swindled the victim out of his or her life’s savings or sweet-talked the victim into changing his or her will, thereby cheating the decedent’s… Read More »
Do You Need to Hire a Lawyer for Probate?
Being responsible for someone else’s finances is stressful, no matter the circumstances. Whether you have just taken on a new managerial job at a company that is struggling financially or if you have just married someone who still has a lot of financial unfinished business from a previous marriage, you feel compelled to solve… Read More »
Can You Handle These Common Probate Disputes Without a Lawyer?
You have held a job for years, maybe even steeled yourself to apply for new jobs after a corporate restructuring. You have helped your children submit college applications, reminding them to ask their teachers for recommendation letters more than 48 hours before the application deadline. You have saved money for retirement, disputed fraudulent charges… Read More »
The Undue Influence Test: Seven Signs That a New Will Does Not Truly Reflect the Decedent’s Wishes
The classic case of undue influence is a family member, a new spouse, or even a caregiver, who builds a close relationship with an elderly relative in his or her final months or years, making self-serving financial decisions on behalf of the elderly person, and even pressuring the elderly person to modify his or… Read More »
The Disinherited Grandson Who Contested His Grandfather’s Will at the Last Minute
When a deceased person’s estate goes to probate, creditors and other interested persons have an opportunity to file a claim (known as a caveat), in which they notify the probate court of their existence and their claim to money belonging to the estate. An “interested person” is anyone who stands to inherit from the… Read More »
Reopening an Estate Can Resolve Inheritance Disputes
Estate planning can prevent a lot of disputes over inheritance. Under the best circumstances, you can designate a beneficiary for each of your assets such that your estate does not even need to go through probate. Even if you are not able to do this, writing a will and being honest with your family… Read More »
