When a loved one passes away, their carefully crafted estate plan should provide clear direction for distributing their assets. But what happens when the beneficiaries named in a will no longer exist by the time of death? This seemingly straightforward question becomes complex when dealing with trusts that terminated decades before the testator’s passing, yet […]
A mixed family and a late marriage are often ingredients for a probate dispute. This is especially true when there are signs of mental decline and the new spouse appeared and quickly became the primary beneficiary. When these red flags combine with a will that dramatically changes long-standing estate plans, surviving family members face a […]
When someone dies owing substantial debts, their passing doesn’t eliminate those obligations. Instead, the debts follow them into probate court. The creditors have to pursue collection through estate administration procedures. This is why and how probate courts handle far more than just will contests and asset distributions. They can be the final battleground for unresolved […]
A married couple has five children and owns a family ranch for nearly seventy years. When the husband dies first, he wants his wife to be able to continue operating the ranch while also providing for their children’s eventual inheritance. His will uses the phrase “for her natural life” – language that seems to clearly […]
You own several LLC interests. Some are owned outright. Some are owned by other LLC’s that you own. There are valid reasons for this, from asset protection to estate planning. But then you die. Then the survivors read your will. And guess what? You either forgot to update the will for changes you made when […]
Family disputes during probate administration often escalate when siblings disagree about what should happen to the family property. One child may want to keep the homestead in the family, while another sees it as an unproductive burden that should be sold. These conflicts become even more complex when a court has already removed the family […]
Elderly adults often become targets for theft by the very people hired to help them. Caregivers gain access to homes and personal belongings. They steal money and valuables. Important documents like wills often vanish during these thefts. The documents may be destroyed accidentally or lost in the chaos that follows systematic exploitation. It can create […]
You might think that receiving an ineritance is easy. How could that be complicated? The maxum that nothing is easy is fitting. When a family member inherits property, they may be inheriting a build-in legal problem. This often happens when property is left to more than one person and one person wants to keep the […]
It is common for families to transfer real estate from one generation to another. This often results in probate disputes, particularly when ownership questions are not fully discussed and the transfers are discovered years after the person who made the transfer died. These situations become particularly complex when the disputed property has connections to a […]
Estate planning attorneys routinely include choice-of-law provisions in trust documents. They often defaulti to the state where the trust is created or where the attorney practices. These provisions might seem like boilerplate language, but they can profoundly impact beneficiaries’ rights decades later. The governing law determines everything from modification procedures to information rights, and these […]
