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What if a will contradicts a beneficiary designation? On Behalf of Zigray Law Office, LLC | Sep 15, 2022 | Probate Litigation There are several ways that people can legally specify to whom they wish to leave particular assets. While a will is the best known and most commonly used of these options, it is not necessarily the strongest. One situation where problems can occur is when a person forgets that they made a beneficiary designation for a specific asset. Here is an example: Rodney divorces Marilyn and, several years later, marries Jenny Rodney decides he wants to leave everything to Jenny when he dies, so he updates his will to say so, removing any mention of Marilyn. Provided the new will is properly written, then Jenny should get “everything.” The problem comes when some of those assets are already accounted for elsewhere via beneficiary designations. If Rodney opened a life insurance policy back when he was married to Marilyn, there is a good chance he named her as the beneficiary. Unless he went in and removed her from it, she still stands to get the payout, despite the will saying Jenny gets everything. This is because what is written in a beneficiary designation supersedes what is written in a will (for that asset only). Hence it is crucial that people check their beneficiary designation when major life changes such as divorce cause them to update their estate plan. Can you contest a beneficiary designation? It may be obvious to all of Rodney’s surviving family and friends that he made a mistake. While Marilyn could simply give the money to Jenny, she is under no obligation to. If Jenny wants it and Marilyn intends to keep it, she needs to file a challenge in the courts. If you believe you have lost out on a beneficiary designation that should have been yours, seek legal help to examine your chances of mounting a successful challenge.

On Behalf of Zigray Law Office, LLC | Sep 8, 2022 | Will Contests Some suspicious names surfaced as beneficiaries to your father’s estate. You suspect dishonesty and forgery are behind it. Someone took advantage of your vulnerable father and is attempting to steal your inheritance. As long as you have an interest in the estate, you may challenge the will. Forgery is among the grounds for which beneficiaries may challenge a will. Other reasons to pursue a challenge may include a testator’s lack of mental capacity, undue influence from a manipulative person, fraud and the improper execution of this important document. Some of these reasons may point to a forged will, too. Howard Hughes’s fake will One of the most notorious cases of a forged will surfaced in 1976, when a Utah man came forward with a document said to be reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes’s last will and testament. Melvin Dummar claimed that an anonymous man gave him the will, leaving him one-sixteenth  — an estimated $156 million — of Hughes’s estate. Dummar said that nine years earlier while driving in the Nevada desert, he spotted a disheveled and injured man – who allegedly was Hughes — lying on a dirt road. Dummar then gave the man a ride to Las Vegas. None of Dummar’s story was true. Missing documents, forged signatures Here are signs of a forged will: Questionable changes to the document Missing and manipulated documents Unproven alterations Forged signatures discounted through handwriting analysis; an automatic invalidation of a will or parts of it With the discovery of a valid will, the probate process begins anew. However, if a valid will does not exist, then the court finds that the decedent died “intestate” – without a will. In the latter scenario, the state decides what happens to the estate’s assets. Seek legal advice if you suspect forgery Few wills are challenged in probate. However, some need to be. If you suspect forgery or some other reason lurks behind a questionable will, seek prompt legal advice.

On Behalf of Zigray Law Office, LLC | Jul 20, 2022 | Will Contests If you spent a lot of time with a parent or grandparent that has since died, you might know how they wanted to distribute their assets. You also know they left a will detailing these wishes. What if another beneficiary contests the will based on the alleged mental incapacity of your deceased loved one? How can you prove that your family member was of sound mind and not incapacitated when they made their will? Certain testimony can help Unfortunately, your opinion as someone close to the deceased may not carry enough weight to prove the will is valid. You need facts and evidence to support your claim that the testator did not suffer from mental incapacity. This is where legal guidance, medical opinion and family member testimony converge to create a more detailed picture. The testimony of individuals like these may help with testamentary incapacity issues. Doctors and mental health experts Those present at the execution of the will Close friends and family members of the decedent Statements from the financial and legal professionals who served your loved one during their life can also add strength to your claims. Healthcare records lend additional credibility Documentation exists somewhere if your family member had an illness or condition affecting their mental capacity. Speak with the estate executor or a legal advocate about accessing the deceased’s medical and mental health records. The probate court may have already requested these records, but you may want a copy as well. We recommend increasing your understanding of will contests and probate litigation proceedings in Ohio. Such knowledge gives you the best chance of asserting your claims successfully.

On Behalf of Zigray Law Office, LLC | Jul 8, 2022 | Will Contests People can create a will any time after they become legal adults and generally retain the authority to do so until they lose their testamentary capacity. Often, those who create wills discuss them with family members so that people know what to expect. When someone names you as a potential beneficiary for their estate, you may expect to receive certain property according to their prior promises. Unfortunately, sometimes people receive unpleasant surprises during the reading of someone’s will. If your loved one made unexpected changes to their will in the last months of their life, is that a reason to challenge the document? Do you suspect compromised cognitive function? Simply making changes to a will shortly before one’s death is not a reason to challenge an estate plan unless there are specific complicating factors. However, if you believe someone made changes when they did not have full cognitive function, that could be a reason to challenge their documents. A lack of testamentary capacity means that an older adult can no longer enter into binding contracts and therefore cannot update or create a will anymore. If there are medical records that confirm your loved one had a specific diagnosis or concerning symptoms of a mental disorder at the time they created their documents, you may have grounds to have the courts question the validity of those documents. Provided that you have evidence of someone’s cognitive decline, you can ask the courts to invalidate the questionable documents and uphold earlier versions of them instead. Understanding when circumstances justify a will contest can help you protect your potential inheritance.

On Behalf of Zigray Law Office, LLC | Jun 27, 2022 | Trust Contests Wills are one of the most straightforward and transparent estate planning tools. They spell out what assets the deceased left and how they wanted them to be distributed. If you see someone getting something you thought you would inherit, you may be able to file a challenge to the will – provided you meet the requirements. Trusts are more complex Let’s say that when you see your father’s will, you are surprised because you thought he owned much more than the will mentions. Then you remember that your sister spent much more time than usual with your dad during his final months and wonder if she persuaded him to put assets aside for her without telling you. A trust would be one way to do that. The problem with trusts is their lack of transparency. Or at least it might be a problem for you as someone unsure whether you are getting a fair deal in the estate distribution. That secrecy is one of the reasons many people use trusts in the first place. Here are some of the facts that the trust may keep secret: What assets are in the trust Who stands to benefit from it Who is in charge of it So yes, contesting a trust is more complicated than challenging a will, partly because it can be hard to tell if there is anything you need to contest. Getting legal help to investigate further and see if you have a reason to be concerned about assets transferred via trusts can help you decide whether to file a trust contest.

On Behalf of Zigray Law Office, LLC | Jun 22, 2022 | Uncategorized You may have read about people contesting their loved ones’ wills after they passed away or about the risk of undue influence changing a person’s will later in life. As a result, you might want to look into anything you can do to prevent those issues in your own situation. One option could be to add additional protections to your estate plan, like setting up a trust. A trust isn’t necessarily stronger than your will, but it may be more protective in some cases. What’s the difference between a will and trust? A will and trust are different because wills only take effect after you pass away while trusts can also be used during your lifetime. You can choose to use either separately to protect your assets and beneficiaries, or you can use them together. The importance of your will A will is important because it dictates how you want to have your assets distributed when you pass away. It also goes over how you want to handle your personal affairs. Your will can be fairly protective, but it doesn’t do anything to remove assets from your estate. It gives a lot of details about what you want, but it may not be as protective as your trust when it comes to minimizing taxation or passing on your assets to specific heirs. A trust is different because it holds assets. It may protect them against being taken by someone who isn’t the intended heir or could help avoid taxes or collections activities. Trusts, on the whole, can’t be contested very easily, making them a little stronger than a will in that sense. You don’t have to choose one or the other The thing to remember is that you’re not obligated to choose one over the other. You can have a will that goes over your wishes as well as trusts to protect your assets. You can set up trusts to pass on your assets and also include your wishes in your will, doubling down on what you want to have happen when you pass away. If you’re working on your estate plan now, remember that either of these, or both, could be right for you.

On Behalf of Zigray Law Office, LLC | Jun 14, 2022 | Will Contests If you believe your loved one’s will doesn’t reflect their true wishes, you may want to contest it. While this is a legal right that you have, you have to consider whether or not it’s a smart move. For situations where you truly believe the will is not fair or based on your loved one’s wishes, you may want to contest it. However, be sure you know all the facts before doing this. Check for a no-contest clause Sometimes, when making a will, the individual will include a no-contest clause. The goal of this is to keep beneficiaries from challenging what has been outlined in the will. In most cases, if someone contests a will with a no-contest clause and loses, they will receive nothing. If you were left something in the will, you should consider whether it is worth risking that inheritance to challenge the will. Your case will probably settle out of court When it comes to will litigation, most cases settle out of court. However, these types of cases can take a while to complete. Therefore, you still need to be prepared to be in it for the long haul. A will contest can cause family rifts You have the legal right to contest a will after a loved one dies. Just remember, this can be a difficult and emotional process. It may also result in conflict between you and other beneficiaries in the will. Be sure you are confident that this is the right step before moving forward. It’s important to have experienced legal guidance as you make the decision about contesting a will and as you go through the process. This can help you protect your rights and work to ensure that your loved one’s wishes are carried out as they would have wanted.

On Behalf of Zigray Law Office, LLC | May 27, 2022 | Will Contests You believe that your loved one’s will cannot possibly reflect their real intentions. You feel very strongly that they were either coerced or bullied into making changes that negatively affect you – and you plan to challenge the will based on another party’s “undue influence.” Since the only two people who probably were around when the undue influence occurred were likely the person you suspect of exerting and the family member you suspect was victimized, it seems like it will be hard to prove your case. That’s where circumstantial evidence comes in. What is circumstantial evidence? The reality is that there are rarely eyewitness accounts of bad acts because the bad actors are smarter than that. Many cases are proven through the use of circumstantial evidence, instead. Circumstantial evidence is any kind of evidence that gives rise to logical inferences that indirectly prove the facts of the case. For example, imagine that you step outside of your office building and the sky seems clear. However, there are some large puddles on the ground that weren’t there when you first went inside, and there are people huddled under the dripping canopy of a bus stop. Several of them are wet and a few are still shaking off their umbrellas. You may not have seen the rain falling from a spring shower, but the circumstantial evidence around you tells you that it happened. In a case of undue influence, circumstantial evidence can include: Medical records that show your loved one was in a serious physical or mental decline (or both) when the new will was made, either of which could have made them vulnerable. Financial records that show how your loved one’s money and resources were gradually being drained via mysterious transfers or withdrawals by the person you suspect. Communication records that show how the person you suspect of undue influence acted as a “gatekeeper” to your loved one before they died. If you suspect undue influence led to an altered will, don’t hesitate to act. There may be a lot more evidence than you think out there that will support your position. Experienced legal guidance is essential.

On Behalf of Zigray Law Office, LLC | May 17, 2022 | Uncategorized Undue influence is one of the many reasons a court can nullify a will. It happens when the person making a will (the testator) is coerced or persuaded to act against their wishes by another. For example, a caregiver may use their position of trust to influence the testator to leave them more property than they would initially have. When this happens, the estate might end up in the wrong hands, and beneficiaries can get less than they deserve. How can you show undue influence? Since your loved one may no longer be around to testify, proving undue influence is not so easy. You may have to rely on circumstantial evidence to show that it happened. Nevertheless, some indicators could be a sign that something went wrong. If there were sudden, unexpected last changes made to the will before the death of the testator, different from what they communicated, it could be a case of undue influence. Similarly, if another person stood to inherit a small portion of the estate or nothing at all, yet they end up with a significant part of it, it could be a sign of undue influence. Remember, the burden of proof is on you to show that your loved one was unduly influenced. Therefore, you have to prove to the court that the person who deceitfully influenced your loved one to modify their will was in a position to do that, and they did it to benefit themselves. The court will also consider other circumstances such as the age and health of the testator as well as their mental or physical ability to make decisions on their own. Preparing for a will contest It is crucial that you get everything right, especially from a legal perspective. There is more to undue influence than mere persuasion, but if you are well prepared and know what you need to do when contesting the will, it will increase your chances of a desirable outcome.

On Behalf of Zigray Law Office, LLC | Apr 28, 2022 | Will Contests When a family member puts assets in a trust for you, they clearly want you to have those assets in the end. You might therefore assume that once the family member dies, you can get rid of the trustee selected to manage the trust if you do not like them. Yet this is not how it works. Ohio law only allows you to do so for specific reasons. It works on the assumption that the person leaving you assets via the trust chose that particular trustee for a good reason. Trustees must manage the trust for the beneficiaries A trustee must do the best for the beneficiaries while adhering to the rules the trustee set. Failing in one of these three ways might be grounds for removal: A serious breach of trust: If you suspect the trustee has made any dubious or self-serving moves, you may want to remove them fast before they do you out of your money. Conflict between co-trustees harms the administration of the trust: Not everyone can work well together, which could reduce their ability to make the correct decisions so crucial to running your trust effectively. They are unfit, unwilling or fail to manage the trust effectively: Making one mistake is unlikely to be grounds enough, but consistent errors might be. Failing to put in sufficient time and effort or lacking the mental capacity to do a good job may convince a court to remove them. You will need considerable evidence to back up any claims you make. Getting help to understand whether your situation meets these criteria and gather the necessary evidence to present your petition to a court will be crucial if you wish to remove a trustee.

On Behalf of Zigray Law Office, LLC | Apr 22, 2022 | Will Contests When someone passes away and you stand to inherit a portion of their assets, it’s both a sad time in your life and one that is a great gift. The last thing that should happen is for the situation to be tarnished by arguments or disputes. Unfortunately, those issues do tend to happen in some families. An inheritance dispute may lead to someone trying to hide or conceal assets that they don’t want to see passed on to another person. An executor or trustee might refuse to pay out your share even though it’s rightfully yours. What can you do if that happens? You need to work with someone on inheritance enforcement. How do you enforce an inheritance? It is possible to enforce an inheritance by taking the executor or trustee withholding those assets to court. When the trustee or executor is reasonable, it’s possible that an attorney may be able to help push through delayed transfers that are caused by reasons out of your control. For example, trusts often have terms that have to be adhered to. Depending on how the terms were written, there could be conflicting instructions or problems with the transaction. The trustee may be holding onto the assets because they want to be sure that they only pass on once the terms of the trust have actually been met. In that kind of situation, you may want to make sure that you’ve collected all the necessary information for the trustee, such as a marriage certificate if the trust required you to be married, and submitted it to them. If so, and if they still delay, you may be able to work with your attorney to negotiate with them or, in rare cases, take them to court. The wrongful withholding of an inheritance or an inheritance dispute can be painful and frustrating for you. It’s important that you do have someone to help you through this situation, because the laws surrounding inheritances can be complex and lead to disputes. The right support and negotiation tactics may help you get your full inheritance sooner and resolve any remaining disputes.

On Behalf of Zigray Law Office, LLC | Apr 20, 2022 | Probate Litigation It may be calming to know that the deceased has put their estate in the hands of a worthy executor. This executor is presumably chosen because they are trusted and respected by the deceased. The role of an executor helps ensure the deceased’s estates are protected and maintained until the estate is distributed. If, for any reason, the executor has failed to fill their role they may be putting the deceased’s estate (and your inheritance) in jeopardy. Their failure to swiftly take control of the estate may cause you to lose out on your inheritance. Signs that you need to challenge the executor’s position The executor may be playing out their responsibilities quietly. Accusing them of mismanagement early could cause a misunderstanding – but you also don’t want to wait too long to ask the court to intercede. To ensure you have a solid reason to believe the executor is not doing their job, you need to gather reasonable evidence that shows they are unfit for the job. You may have reasonable evidence if the executor: Fails to gather death certificates Fails to notify creditors of the death Fails to contact all the heirs Fails to properly distribute the estate Fails to pay the mortgages on any real estate Fails to pay the taxes on the estate Fails to maintain or loses the estate Fails to protect valuables or steals from the estate If any of these things are true, it may be possible to have the executor removed. You may also be able to take additional legal action to recover your losses. Experienced legal guidance can help you determine what steps you should take first.