Warring Over Wills

Leo Tolstoy once wrote, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”  Yet when it comes to wills and estates, the woes may echo one another. 

Although these battles are the exception rather than the rule, how do you avoid family warring?  Some experts say there is no “one-size-fits all approach” that will ensure harmony when you die.  “Things like family trusts, putting business assets in different companies and having an up-to-date will are very important because if you don’t do those things you can leave a real mess behind which can be very expensive to sort out and money can go to people who you may not have wanted to benefit.”

If property has been gifted before death, it cannot be the subject of dispute.  Thus, when sizeable assets are at stake, a lot of planning is needed.  A discretionary trust may be an ideal mechanism to facilitate this change if it is set up properly. In establishing a trust, one must anticipate where control of the business will lie, and put that in a letter of wishes.  “This generally isn’t a legally binding document, it’s generally informal … in conjunction with a well structured trust, a letter of wishes can be a very useful thing to guide all those who are involved, including family members.”  This may not be a remedy to keep relatives from going head to head, however, consulting your family and communicating your wishes to them before you die can help forestall any problems. 

See Hamish Fletcher, Families at War: When Wills Go Sour, The New Zealand Herald, Oct. 17, 2014.