We have families in our office all of the time who are worried about will or trust contests after their death. Our answer, although harsh but is the truth, there is no way to keep someone from contesting your will or trust. The best we can do is to make it disadvantageous for someone to contest, but there is no way to prevent this – even with the best of planning.
You need look no further than the estate of the famous actor and comedian, Robin Williams. He gave his family a tremendous gift and had his estate planning affairs in order before he passed away.This however, is not preventing the family he left behind from arguing about who gets what. For more information about this case:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/robin-williams-kids-ask-judge-to-toss-wifes-estate-claims/
The best way to avoid these kinds of family pitfalls is to discuss your plan with your family now. This way there are no surprises. If someone doesn’t understand your choices, they have time to ask you questions. You also have the ability to explain your decisions. This not only reduces the shock about your decisions, which may lead to hurt feelings after you’ve passed away, but it also shows your intent on the front-end of how you want matters handled, making it even harder for someone to contest later. So, if you think there may be issues after you’re gone, start the discussion with your family now.
