Unfortunately, the battle over family wealth is as timeless as family itself. Regardless of how prepared your clients might be, there is no predicting how otherwise rational people will behave after the loss of a family member. A will or trust contest can cause long-lasting damage to a family structure, financial strain, and emotional turmoil and are ideally avoided. Challenges to a client’s estate plan can also put the assets under management in jeopardy and increase the likelihood that they will be depleted during the litigation.
Working with Professionals Is the Best Course of Action
We encourage you to chat with your clients about their family dynamics. Because you have been working with them for an extended period of time, they may feel more comfortable opening up to you about their concerns. If they fear their estate plan may be contested, remind them that only an experienced estate planning attorney should be trusted to create and maintain their estate plan, and you are here to assist them in making that happen. For those who mention that they have prepared their documents themselves, caution them that a do-it-yourself approach often ends in disaster.
Sharing Some Information May Help
Encourage clients to let their loved ones know an estate plan exists and to share some general information about what it covers. Offer to facilitate a conversation with your clients and their children or other family members or simply encourage your clients to converse with them on their own. While intimate details can be kept close to the vest, alerting loved ones to the existence of an estate plan can limit fighting by letting them know that important decisions have been made and where the documents can be found.
Clients Can Take Steps to Protect an Inheritance
For clients concerned that problematic beneficiaries might misuse their inheritance, discretionary trusts may be a good solution. Rather than disinheriting the troubled family member, clients can establish a trust from which distributions will be made to the trust’s beneficiaries according to specific rules and conditions. For example, clients can design a trust so that money is distributed to a beneficiary at a stated age (e.g., age 30), once a condition is met (e.g., completion of college), or for specific needs (e.g., tuition, house, etc.). Clients can further limit inheritance distributions by allowing the trustee to decide if, when, and how much the beneficiary receives.
Ensure Their Estate Plan Is Up-to-Date
Ultimately, keeping an estate plan updated is one of the best ways to limit fighting over an inheritance or challenging a will or trust. While many see estate planning as a one-and-done transaction, remind clients to update their plans regularly. An updated estate plan signifies that a person is mindful of their changing financial and family situations and ensures that their plan truly reflects their wishes. As their trusted advisor, you are uniquely situated to help facilitate these conversations and ensure they meet with their estate planning attorney as needed.
We Are Here to Help
If you have any questions or know of clients who would benefit from meeting us, please call us. Together, we can put our clients’ minds at ease and help their families maintain peace and harmony even after a loved one’s death.
Call our office at 708.448.5169 should you wish to discuss more ways to collaborate and best serve our mutual clients.
