If you’ve been named as the estate executor, you may be wary about disputes. You know that they can get complicated. But people who are direct descendants or who were included in the estate plan may have a right to challenge that plan.
One important thing to do is to consider why these disputes happen and what can be done to resolve them. Although there are numerous potential reasons, below are two of the most common.
Unequal bequests
Parents do have the right to leave unequal bequests to their children. They do not have to split their assets up fairly or equally. In fact, some studies claim that unequal bequests are becoming more common.
But it is true that leaving beneficiaries different amounts of money – especially if they are siblings – could lead to disputes. For instance, it could revive old sibling rivalries from when they were children, especially if the person who received a smaller inheritance always felt like their parents preferred their sibling.
Sentimental items
Another issue is when the estate plan contains items that may not have much financial value, but that do have quite a lot of sentimental value. These disputes can become very emotional because two beneficiaries simply cannot have the same item, so there may not be a solution where it feels like “everybody wins.” Additionally, since these items are not traditionally valuable, it’s hard or impossible to sell them and split up the money. .
You may have to deal with some of these disputes as the estate executor. Take the time to carefully consider all of the legal options at your disposal.