People often ask estate planning attorneys how they can make sure that their wishes are fulfilled after they pass away. People have a legitimate fear that their family will not listen to their wishes and obey the dictates in their estate plans. This is because they have heard horror stories about estate challenges gone awry.
The truth is that estate planning attorneys have a variety of ways to make sure that your wishes are fulfilled. None of these methods are perfect by themselves, but used in combination they can have great effect in limiting any challenges to your estate.
For example, a no contest clause can be included in your Will that states that anyone who challenges any portion of the Will can not inherit anything from the Will. These clauses limit Will challenges greatly. However, they have no effect after the estate is settled. This makes it so people can still disobey the dictates in the Will later.
Other methods for heading off estate challenges have their own limitations. An estate planning attorney can help you to use different methods in combination. The more methods employed in your estate plan, the more likely that your wishes will be fulfilled.
Stephen A. Mendel, Estate Planning Attorney
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