Handling Will and Trust Disputes
Posted on 25. Jun, 2010 by Attorney in Uncategorized
The purpose of a will is to make sure a party’s estate is divided according to the desire of the executor. In many cases, however, interested parties wish to challenge the will after the person’s death, as they feel they have been treated unfairly. They may contest that the will is illegitimate according to the law, and in many cases they may have a strong legal reason to believe this.
When this occurs, the party will typically file a will contest, which will prevent the will from entering probate until further examination and argument has taken place. People interested in bringing will to contest should make sure they have an attorney on their side who does not have any conflicts of interest in the case. Current probate code allows any interested party to file a will contest. These parties are described as heirs, children, spouses, beneficiaries, or anyone who has a property right or any kind of claim against the estate that could be effected by the will.
With trust disputes, a wide variety of interested parties may wish to bring the dispute. They may wish to determine the legal validity of the trust or may have problems with the way the trust has been handled by the trustee. Under the law, the trustee has certain duties and qualifications to handle a trust. If these duties are shirked in any way or interested parties have reason to believe they are not qualified for the job, it could be a reason to bring a trust dispute to court.
Trustee duties include a duty to loyalty, a duty to avoid conflicts of interest, impartiality, disclosure, a duty not to delegate, the duty to keep trusts separate, and they must enforce claims as a general standard. When an interested party believes that these duties have not been upheld, it is their responsibility and right to contact an attorney and bring a dispute against the trust.
The preceding article should be used for informational purposes only and is not to be taken as legal advice.
A family member’s death is a sad event that is made even more upsetting by legal difficulties. A will and trust disputes attorney can help you through this sad time.
