Estate disputes can be highly problematic. In some cases, adult children never talk to one another again. This is why avoiding these disputes is one of the main goals for those who are drafting an estate plan.
But disputes can and do happen, so it is also important for estate executors and administrators to know why they might occur. Below are three potential reasons.
1. Sentimental items
First and foremost, beneficiaries often get into disputes over who should get certain assets. If these assets have sentimental value to multiple people, it’s very hard to divide them. Selling the assets and splitting up the money often doesn’t help because the beneficiaries want the specific assets, not the financial value of those assets.
2. Unequal bequests
An unequal bequest is when a parent leaves significantly different inheritances to multiple beneficiaries, rather than dividing the total evenly between all beneficiaries. This increases the odds of an estate dispute. A beneficiary who did not receive as much as their siblings may feel slighted.
3. Lack of an estate plan
Finally, estate disputes are much more likely if there isn’t an estate plan at all. This means that it is up to the adult children to decide what their deceased parent would have wanted. Often, they see things differently; it can be very hard to resolve this type of dispute because there are no instructions from their parent.
Legal disputes over a parents’ estate can grow complex. It can help to work with an experienced law firm to explore your options and help things go smoothly for your family.
