8 Ways to Avoid Probate by Mary Randolph J.D

Author:Mary Randolph, J.D. [J.D. Randolph Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: NOLO
Published: 2018-04-15T04:00:00+00:00

Court challenges to living trusts, like challenges to wills, are rare. But if there is a lawsuit, it’s generally considered more difficult to successfully attack a living trust than a will. That’s because your continuing involvement with a living trust after its creation (transferring property in and out of the trust, or making amendments) is evidence that you were competent to manage your affairs.

Someone who wanted to challenge the validity of your living trust would have to bring a lawsuit and prove that:

•when you made the trust, you were mentally incompetent or unduly influenced by someone, or

•the trust document itself is flawed—for example, because the signature was forged.

You needn’t concern yourself with the possibility of a lawsuit at all unless you think that a close relative—someone who would inherit from you if you hadn’t made the trust or will that you did—might have an ax to grind after your death. Pay attention to certain kinds of simmering family tensions, which sometimes boil over into lawsuits. Here are a few red flags:

•You have children from a previous marriage who don’t get along with your current spouse, and either your spouse or the children might feel slighted.

•You are in a relationship that your closest relatives don’t approve of.

•You have a history of mental illness, which might lead relatives to conclude you weren’t thinking clearly when you made your trust.

•You don’t plan to leave much property to close relatives, and they fear you are being unduly influenced by someone.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.