Parents and others intending to leave significant estates often discuss their plans with their loved ones ahead of time. They talk to their children about everything from who might serve as their personal representative to how they intend to distribute their property.
Losing a parent is a tragedy. Discovering discrepancies in their estate plan can worsen the emotional turmoil of those who have recently lost a parent. The discovery that estate planning paperwork seems to contradict a parent’s long-held wishes can leave people feeling very anxious about the future and about the appropriate way to respond.
What options do adult children have when a parent’s will seems to contradict the plans that they previously discussed with their family?
There could be issues with the documents
The testamentary wishes of adults can change over time. However, parents usually disclose major adjustments to their estate plans to their children to prevent them from fighting over those changes later. In scenarios where parents did not inform their children of significant adjustments to their long-held testamentary wishes, there may be reason to question whether they understood the changes they made or made those adjustments of their own free will.
Frustrated adult children who receive only a portion of the inheritance that their parents promised them might be able to convince the courts that the caregiver who suddenly became the main beneficiary might have exerted undue influence on the testator. In scenarios where last-minute changes specifically benefit someone who was in a position of authority over the testator, there could be reason to suspect that those changes were not entirely voluntary.
Families can potentially ask the courts to set aside compromised documents if the undue influence of an outside party led to the alteration of the original estate plan. The courts may refer to a previous will or may treat the estate as intestate.
Will contests could also be possible in scenarios where last-minute revisions occurred after an individual likely experienced a decline in their cognitive function. The lack of testamentary capacity could make those adjustments invalid. Occasionally, children may discover that their parents crafted their wills years before discussing the matter with the family but never updated the documents to reflect their wishes. That situation could also theoretically warrant a will contest.
Reviewing the terms of a will and the prior discussions that the family has had about the wishes of a testator with a skilled legal team could help people assert themselves more effectively after their parents die. Probate litigation can sometimes help uphold the true wishes of parents who die with compromised estate planning documents in place.