Articles Posted in Wills

If a family is dragged into a drawn-out court battle over an estate planning issue, chances are it is a “will contest.” This phrase refers colloquially to cases where one party claims that something is wrong with a will and that the legal document should be thrown out. It goes without saying that preventing this very scenario is exactly why you should talk with planning professionals as early as possible. An attorney can explain how alternative tools–like trusts–can be used to almost eliminate the risk of a will contest entirely. Alternatively, the lawyer can explain the common challenges to a will and the way to guard against them.

Guarding Against A Will Contest

Essentially, there are four main ways that a will may be rejected by a court following a challenge:

You have probably heard the term “Executor.” Under New York law, this is the name given to the person (or trust company or bank) that is named in a Will and instructed to carry out the decedent’s wishes as outlined in a Will. Executors are entitled to a fee for their work, and it is usually paid out of the estate itself.

While friends and family members are often named as executors, the required duties can be complex. They include collecting assets and paying debts, expenses, and taxes. The process usually takes months (if not longer) and involves tricky procedural chores. Making mistakes can result in significant personal liability to the Executor, and so it is important that no party is surprised by their duties or uncomfortable with the work.

Make a Careful Choice

The State recently reported on another “will contest” involving a well-known South Carolina family. The story is an example of a very common estate planning problem, disagreement between adult children and a second (or third) spouse.

The basics of the family situation are well known. The patriarch, former University of South Carolina football coach Jim Carlen, had three children with his first wife, Sharon. In the early 1980s, Carlen divorced Sharon and married his second wife, Meredith. Carlen and Meredith had one child together. While specific details are sparse, it seems that Meredith and the Carlen children from the first marriage may not have had the best relationship. Tension of this sort is quite common among all families with parents who re-marry following divorce or death.

In Carlen’s case, the children are claiming that the man’s second wife exercised undue influence on him in his waning years, taking advantage of his dementia. Carlen apparently wrote a series of wills (among other estate planning documents). The first, in 1970, left his assets to his wife and children. All subsequent wills were similar, with the children left substantial property.

How should you decide who you should name as beneficiaries in your estate planning documents? For many, the answer is not too complicated: leave it all to the children. However, just because that model is the most common form of passing on assets does not mean that there are not others who you might like to leave something. For many, designating beneficiaries in a will and trust documents is an important way to re-iterate their values, morals, and interests one final time. After all, estate planning is about legacy-building.

Charitable contributions are common, as New Yorkers seek to help out their favorite causes one final time. Similarly, many residents decide to leave assets to political causes. The total amount donated to political parties and candidates this way is actually quite substantial. However, because of campaign finance laws, there are some additional complications when making these bequests.

Political Beneficiaries