Tag Archives: Disinherit
How to Disinherit a Child: 5 Tips to do so Successfully
This blog post discusses the steps that parents can take to disinherit a child and, in doing so, maximize their chances that their disinherited child won’t successfully challenge the parent’s will or trust. When to Disinherit Clearly, no parent should necessarily want to disinherit a child. But, there are a range of situations that could make such a decision not only warranted, but also necessary. For example, some children completely ignore their parents, or act so disrespectfully towards them, that it would be entirely appropriate to disinherit a child. I’ve seen scenarios whereby children have been disinherited for having tried …
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Recognizing Signs of Elder Abuse (and Traits of Elder Abusers)
My goal in this blog post is to discuss character traits of elder abusers so that you can recognize them and hopefully protect yourself, your family, and your friends. I’ve handled over 100 estate disputes, and in a sizeable number of those cases, elder abusers committed an array of unethical actions including isolating, threatening, and pressuring elderly people to change their estate plans. I previously wrote a lengthy blog post that discussed the signs of undue influence of elders. That blog post can be found by clicking here. By contrast, this blog post focuses on the character traits of elder abusers. …
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Top 10 Ways To Be Disinherited (And How To Avoid That) (Part 2)
This is Part 2 in the series of the top 10 factors that I’ve seen that lead to people being disinherited from a relative’s or friend’s estate plan. In Part 1, I discussed 5 of the 10 factors, and the following round out the final 5 factors. Knowing these factors will hopefully help ensure that you not only avoid being disinherited, but perhaps, more importantly, help ensure that you have deeper and more meaningful relationships with family and friends: 6) File a Guardianship and Conservatorship Action Against a Relative There are two main reasons why a person would file a …
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Top 10 Ways To Be Disinherited (And How To Avoid That) (Part 1)
I’ve handled over 100 estate disputes, and based upon my experience the following are 5 of the top 10 factors that I’ve seen that lead to people being disinherited from a relative’s or friend’s estate plan. I’ll follow this blog post with another one in the next week or two discussing the final 5 factors. Knowing these factors will hopefully help ensure that you not only avoid being disinherited, but perhaps, more importantly, help ensure that you have deeper and more meaningful relationships with family and friends: 1) Don’t Visit or Call Your Relative This is far and away the …
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The Ernie Banks Will Dispute Highlights Potential Concerns About Caregivers
The famous baseball player Ernie Banks was known for his positivity and his love of baseball (captured in his iconic phrase “Let’s play two,” referring to his desire to play a doubleheader every day). It’s ironic, then, that his estate has been the subject of a bitter dispute between his family and his caretaker. CNN.com Reports: “Banks family attorney Mark Bogen said Banks’ agent, Regina Rice, had the octogenarian sign a new will three months before his death. Our family thought that Ms. Rice was helping our father and watching over him while he was in Chicago,” son Joey Banks …
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Recognizing Signs of Undue Influence
Undue influence over elderly persons, disabled persons, and others is a large problem, which will only get worse as American society increasingly ages and the baby boomer generation prepares to transition large sums of wealth via their estate plans. It’s important for every family member, friend, neighbor, business colleague, etc., to be aware of the signs of undue influence so that they can protect their family members, friends, and associates. The law in Virginia (like the law in most states) defines undue influence as influence “sufficient to destroy [the] free agency” of a person. Jarvis v. Tonkin, 238 Va. 115, …
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Why You Should Avoid Filming a Will Signing
With few exceptions, filming or recording a will signing is usually a bad idea. Nevertheless, some estate planning attorneys still film certain will signings under the assumption that videotaping a will signing will provide tangible “proof” that the person executing the will was not suffering from a lack of testamentary capacity at the time of execution. There are several reasons why, in most instances, this is a bad idea. First some background: in order for a will to be valid, the person executing the will (often referred to as the “testator”) must have “testamentary capacity” (which, in most states, is …
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Why a Guardianship Proceeding Could be a Precursor to a Will Change
Did you know that in Virginia, a person who is the subject of a guardianship and/or conservatorship can still have the requisite testamentary capacity to enact or amend his will? As a result, there’s a huge potential for mischief by those seeking to be appointed a guardian and/or conservator. First, some background: several years ago, the Virginia Supreme Court reiterated – in the case Parish v. Parish, 281 Va. 191 (2011) – that a person can still have testamentary capacity to make a will (that is, the required mental ability), even if a court has appointed a guardian and/or a …
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