Estate litigation concerns for British Columbia residents
Estate litigation is exactly what every diligent estate planner is trying to avoid, but sometimes, the best-laid estate plans can fall subject to challenges in court after the estate planner passes away. This is where a qualified estate planning lawyer can be very helpful in assisting families to assert their beneficiary rights in court.
The lawyers at Garton & Harris have represented countless British Columbia families in estate litigation proceedings. Typically, the types of issues we address in these kinds of legal proceedings include:
— Challenges relating to the mental capacity of the deceased individual when the will was drafted.
— Challenges asserting that the deceased was subjected to undue influence and/or coercion at the time the will was created.
— Claims that the will fails to meet legal requirements relating to signatures and witnesses.
— Allegations that the deceased failed to appropriately provide for his or her spouse and/or children in the will.
— Issues related to assets that were not included in the will.
The reasons for estate litigation are virtually endless. For example, beneficiaries could become dissatisfied with the way the estate administrator is managing probate for the estate. Or, beneficiaries might try to request that the trustee of a trust involved in an estate be removed and replaced with someone more competent.
At Garton & Harris, our lawyers are available to listen to the concerns of British Columbia families involved in an estate-related disagreement. We are also available to help families prepare their estates in a way that minimizes the chances of estate litigation as much as possible.