Dealing with the death of a close friend or family member is hard enough to deal with as is. The manner in which we grieve depends on the individual; however, what is clear is that it can be really difficult to be constructive and positive in what is a sad and emotional time. What can make this situation worse, however, is the prospect of someone’s final legal testament being disputed and haggled over by family and friends. More often than not, will dispute lawyers are required to solve disagreements and concerns regarding the equitable split of someone’s assets following their death. The purpose of this is to amend the manner of splitting someone’s estate so it is fair for all those involved. If this resonates with a situation you are involved in, here are several advantages of seeking the legal advice of will dispute lawyers.
What do will dispute lawyers do?
Will dispute lawyers assist when someone wants to challenge a deceased person’s asset dispersion. Most cases don’t actually end up going to court, since they are often settled prior to going to trial. Likewise, these issues can be solved through a process called mediation. However, many high-profile cases do end up in court.
If you get in contact with will dispute lawyers, they’ll likely tell you that you need to prepare in order for your challenge to be successful. Indeed, most contests are unsuccessful because of poor preparation and a lack of strong legal counsel.
Furthermore, your solicitors can help draft the necessary Consent Orders and Terms of Settlement. These documents are essential in terms of clarifying which assets are in question, their value and how they should be split amongst the beneficiaries of the estate.
Get what you deserve
It’s important that you get what you feel you deserve following the death of a loved one. The pain of losing them can be worsened by the idea that they were somehow upset or disappointed with you in some way, to the point that they exclude you from their estate.
Nonetheless, if you sincerely believe that you have a stake in their assets, there are several methods of lodging a challenge. Before doing this, be sure to get in contact with will dispute lawyers to ensure your challenge is successful. You can lodge a challenge if you believe the deceased lacked the mental faculty to make decisions regarding their estate. This could be attributed to conditions like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Other forms of mental illness can also be accepted as grounds to make the legal document invalid.
No more breaches of trust
Unfortunately, some estates are falsified with documents that have been created under duress. What does this mean? Simply, it infers that the individual was purposely misled or confused, thus signing a document they didn’t necessarily approve of. Usually this occurs if one of the beneficiaries is trying to divvy up the assets in a manner that favours them. In this scenario, will dispute lawyers can definitely assist in lodging a claim that can contest the legal document and ensure the trust or estate is no longer breached by unethical executors.
Your family is more secure
In addition, a person’s estate can be challenged if you believe that the family provisions are inadequate. If you are a direct family member of the deceased (i.e. husband, wife, son, daughter), then it is important that you receive the financial support you are entitled to, particularly if the deceased was the primary income earner for the household. For some families and individuals, this money is incredibly important in terms of building an income safety net. Therefore, you should definitely consider hiring will dispute lawyers to assist with your case.