The summary sheet at Michael Hackard’s law firm detailing disputed probate as well as estate and trust cases revealed a not-so-surprising trend: about half of the firm’s disputed estate cases involved litigation between step-children and their step-mothers. While this is not necessarily a bulwark to the evil step-mother paradigm, it is certainly an indication of the relative frequency of conflicts between step-mothers and their deceased spouse’s kids. Though this phenomenon does affect step-fathers, the overall rate is substantially lower. A possible explanation for the discrepancy may lie in the fact that widows significantly outnumber widowers by almost four to one. This step-child and step-parent tension can lead to egregious behavior after the death of a spouse/father ranging from a step-mother’s refusal to disclose the location of the decedent’s remains, providing favorable gifts to consanguineous children, hiding assets, or throwing away treasured heirlooms. Hackard has seen these behaviors time and again. When clients call him about these types of disputes, his usual advice to all parties is that “cooler heads, willing to resolve matters early, will often save estate money and reduce the emotional and financial injury to all members of the decedent’s family.”
See Michael Hackard, Stepmothers: The Cause Of So Many Estate Fights, Forbes, January 23, 2018.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.) for bringing this article to my attention.
