Estate planning documents are a vital part of an individual’s end-of-life affairs that are often overlooked. It is not a topic that is “fun” to talk about. In fact, all too often people wait too long to address things in their estate planning they know could be issues for their family after they have passed. Issues such as estate planning documents being incorrect or out of dates can cause major problems for your family after your death and lead to costly and complex probate administrations.
While Probate administration gets painted as being very difficult by media, in reality most probate administrations are straight forward. However, Contested Probate can occur for a multitude of reasons and often results in months of litigation and thousands of dollars in legal fees. You can prevent that from happening to your family by paying attention to a few small details.
One of the most common issues we see that causes contested probate is ambiguity in the estate planning documents someone is creating or already has in place. Whether it be a Trust or a Will, ambiguity in the document can cause large problems down the road. Something as simple as a discrepancy with whom is in charge after someone passes or confusing wording in dispositive paragraphs can result in having to petition the county Probate Court for clarity or permission to amend the documents. As stated above, this can be a long process and result in additional legal fees beyond the normal costs of administration.
Especially in situations where there are multiple beneficiaries being treated differently under the terms of the Will or Trust, it is imperative that your wishes are clearly stated and outlined in the documents. Ambiguity as mentioned above can cause beneficiaries to disagree on what your intentions truly were in the document which can result in lawsuits against your estate. Your estate then becomes subject to the discretion of the Judge and their interpretation of your documents.
In a prior blog, we discussed how having accurate and up to date powers of attorney can prevent similar issues while you are alive. If at some point a Guardianship or Conservatorship becomes necessary, the Court will first look to your powers of attorney to determine priority for appoint to such position.
In summary, the best way to prevent the issues we see all too often listed above is to:
- Have estate planning documents in place that fit your specific needs
- Understand what your documents truly say. If you don’t understand your documents, your Trustee or Personal Representative might have the same issues after you are gone.
- Meet with our office for regular estate planning checkups as life changes so that we can help you make sure your documents make sense for your life at present.
Estate planning documents cannot be changed easily once you die. The easiest way to make sure your wishes are followed is to have clear, up to date, and accurate documents in place.
Give us a call at 616-457-4410 to schedule a consultation today! Or visit our contact form to request a meeting online.
