Sometimes, serious rifts occur among family members that are challenging to resolve, possibly resulting in estrangement. Children may decide to limit or cease contact with their parents for various reasons, or vice versa, but this typically has little bearing on inheritance if the decedent fails to implement sound estate planning practices. Understand more about estranged children and how estrangement impacts an individual’s estate plan, and explore how a seasoned Florida estate planning lawyer from Roulet Law Firm, P.A. might help people arrange their affairs; call our Minnesota location at 763-420-5087 or our Florida site at 941-909-4644.
What Are Estranged Children?
According to the National Library of Medicine (NLM), adult children and parents can become estranged, defined as having zero contact with one another. Additionally, the concept includes limited contact between the parent and child, resulting in a poor-quality relationship.
What Is an Estate Plan?
The Department of the Interior (DOI) defines estate planning as the process of collecting legal documents, such as powers of attorney, trusts, and wills, outlining how to handle an individual’s affairs at the time of their death or incapacitation. Often, this involves collaborating with various professionals like accountants, lawyers, and financial planners to discuss property transfers, tax planning, and other personal matters. Without adopting estate planning practices, the state determines a deceased person’s heirs and distributes the individual’s assets via a lengthy procedure known as probate.
Can Estranged Children Claim Inheritance?
Assuming the deceased person left no will, the state will provide the estranged child with a proportion of the deceased individual’s estate, irrespective of the state of the relationship. However, the law does not stipulate that an individual must name an estranged child as a beneficiary of their estate, meaning they can choose to disinherit them by creating a valid will before their death and using clear language stating the child’s disinheritance. Alternatively, they could choose to limit the assets they wish to transfer to the estranged child or place them in a trust.
Can My Estranged Child Contest My Will?
An estranged child could contest their parent’s will, although this process can be challenging and time-consuming. When someone dies, their estate undergoes probate, a procedure whereby the court examines the decedent’s estate, supervises the payment of their debts, and governs the asset distribution process. During probate, estranged children may attend court and ask about their estate entitlement, particularly if the decedent mentioned them in a previous will; however, this does not necessarily mean their challenge to the will may succeed, especially if the decedent created an airtight will.
Do Estranged Adult Children Ever Reconcile?
Reconciling a relationship is possible between an adult estranged child and their parents. Generally, no time criteria surrounding this subject exist; some children and parents may frequently become estranged and then reconcile, resulting in an estrangement cycle. Others may cease contact for decades or permanently, and some parents and children may experience long periods of estrangement but then ultimately manage to fix the relationship.
Gain a more detailed understanding of how having estranged children affects someone’s estate plan, and discover how a Minnesota estate planning attorney can assist with a person’s estate planning issues. Contact Roulet Law Firm, P.A. today to arrange a consultation.
Estate Planning Options With Estranged Children
Individuals may adopt several estate planning strategies that factor in an estranged child; typically, the severity of the estranged relationship can dictate the appropriate option to take. Below are some possible estate planning options to consider.
Complete Disinheritance
For parents who do not want their estranged child to obtain any part of their estate after they pass away, they could develop estate planning documents that reflect this and fully disinherit their child. To achieve this goal, follow these steps:
- Write a statement specifically naming the child that mentions the person’s desire to disinherit them, but avoid listing in detail the reasons for doing this; failing to do this could improve the child’s chances of successfully challenging the will.
- To prevent possible will contests, which can be time-consuming and costly for other family members, particularly if one of them is the executor, craft a properly executed will with correctly addressed testamentary dispositions (like beneficiary designations and trust fundings).
- Consider writing to the estranged child to offer context and explain the decision; doing this creates evidence of no undue influence when making the decision, making it more challenging for the child to contest the will, and boosts the likelihood of the child accepting the decision.
- Avoid probate and an opportunity for the estranged child to contest the will by placing the estate’s assets in a trust.
Limited Inheritance
Another option for those who want to avoid total disinheritance or reduce the chances of the child contesting the will is to limit the child’s inheritance; this could either be lower than the proportion of the estate left to other children or less than what the child may have inherited had the deceased person conducted no estate planning. Leaving an estranged child a limited, but sufficient, inheritance as opposed to nothing might prevent them from challenging the will, particularly if the document includes a no-contest clause. This type of clause stipulates that the child inherits nothing if they decide to contest the will and their claim fails.
Place Inheritance in a Trust
If the estrangement occurred due to the child’s issues with alcohol or substance abuse, or if they have money management issues, the parent could leave the child’s part of the estate in a trust, requiring the child to meet specific conditions before asset distributions take place. They could instruct the person managing the trust, known as the trustee, how and when to disburse trust funds; for instance, the distributions could transpire after the child beats their addiction or finds full-time work or the funds could transfer without conditions but in small installments.
Call an Experienced Estate Planning Attorney To Learn More
A key estate planning goal is to make sure an individual’s loved ones follow their wishes in the event of their incapacitation or death. If someone wants to disinherit an estranged member of the family, or limit their inheritance, the recommended approach is to have estate planning documents that reflect this. Learn about how estranged children can impact a person’s estate plan, and see how a Florida estate planning attorney may help individuals achieve their estate planning goals; contact Roulet Law Firm, P.A. at their Florida site by calling 941-909-4644 or call their Minnesota location at 763-420-5087.
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