When you are working on your estate plan, one thing that you need to do is to consider how to prevent your will from being contested in the future. If a will is contested, it’s possible that your estate many not be settled for a long time after your passing, which makes life more complicated for your family.
The good news is that there are a few ways that you can help prevent your will from being contested. You may be able to prevent this issue by creating a strong will with trusts that back up your choices, creating a no-contest clause or by handing down important assets during your lifetime.
Creating a strong will with trusts
One of the first things you could do is set up trusts rather than leaving assets behind in a will. With a trust, you can establish exactly who will receive what and make sure that a trustee only passes on those assets at specific times.
Creating a no-contest clause
The next option is to create a no-contest clause. With this, you may state that anyone who contests the will and loses their case may lose everything that you left to them. This would make many people reconsider contesting the will at all.
Creating peace by passing on items now
A third option may be to pass on assets now. For example, if you have a piece of real estate that you would like to pass on to your grandchild, doing this now rather than waiting until after your death may help you resolve disputes yourself. It is much harder for people to argue against your choices when you’re making them during your lifetime.
You can prevent will contests by being proactive during your estate planning process
These are a few ways to prevent a will from being contested. Families do sometimes argue and dispute a person’s wishes, which is why it’s important for you to consider ways to prevent disputes now. A solid will, trust, no-contest clause or path to passing on your items will help minimize the risk of your family fighting after your passing.
