The Will Mistakes That Create Family Disputes

After a person passes away, their will should give clear instructions for how their assets will be distributed. Unfortunately, many wills create family conflicts that last years. The problems with wills are not always readily apparent as they’re created, but they become clear when the family tries to understand the instructions, use the information provided in the will, or when they have to deal with circumstances outside of what the will anticipated. Understanding the common issues with wills helps people avoid creating these problems.

Ambiguous Language That Means Different Things

Ambiguous language is one of the biggest issues people have with their wills because it leaves a lot of room for interpretation. If the property is to be “distributed fairly among my children”, does that mean each child gets the same share? Or does it mean that it could be distributed differently to account for other factors? Fair might be equitable to one person but might not be to another.

The same issue comes with distributing items like “my jewelry” or “my tools”. Leaving it up to someone else to interpret these general descriptions leaves a lot of room for family conflict. Each member might have a different opinion about what counts as jewelry or which tools are considered valuable enough to include in that group of items.

Outdated Beneficiary Designations

Another issue stems from people failing to update their will as their lives change. Someone might have written their will years ago, and it reflects their life and relationships at the time it was created, but it might not factor in the people and changes in a person’s life since that time. Someone might have named an ex-spouse as a beneficiary, which would be a problem unless that mistake is corrected, or they might have had children after the will was created who are not accounted for.

Life moves forward but documents don’t update themselves. If you work with a wills and estates lawyer to review and update your estate plans whenever something significant happens in your life, you can prevent this type of problem from happening.

Unequal Distribution Without Explanation

Distributing an unequal amount among family members is another common source of conflict if there is no explanation for why the distribution happened that way. It could be because someone helped you financially more than someone else, or maybe they assisted you with caregiving.

Without context, family members will make their own assumptions about why your property is being distributed the way it is. However, these assumptions usually aren’t charitable.

This situation ends up creating family conflict because the child with less thinks you favored someone else, and the one with more has to defend themselves. Even if there’s a good reason for why things are distributed unfairly compared to what other family members are receiving, excluding this information might make family members upset and cause conflict.

Failure to Consider Family Dynamics

Some families have great relationships with each other while others don’t. A will that ignores these family dynamics creates problems. Family members who don’t speak to each other being expected to make joint decisions about estate assets is not the best idea.

The same situation could happen between children from first marriages and second marriages. There are step-relationships that legally aren’t the same as familial relationships. Failing to consider your family dynamic might create problems that you could have solved by talking to a wills and estate lawyer.

Missing or Unclear Executor Instructions

It’s important for people to give clear instructions about how the executor should handle administration of their estate, especially if there is a specific way they want something handled or if they want specific questions to be answered. When only vague directions are given there are plenty of areas that leave room for disagreement.

Ignoring Digital Assets and Modern Property

Wills that don’t account for digital assets, social media accounts, cryptocurrency, intellectual property, business interests, partnership agreements and other property can lead to complications as well. If there are conflicts between what is stated in will provisions versus other legal documents, this can create problems.

Handwritten Changes and Informal Amendments

People sometimes make handwritten changes or informal amendments to their will on documents that do not have legal standing. There could also be older versions floating around with changes made at different times and different dates on each copy.

Wills that are made based on assumptions like certain property still existing or charities still operating can create challenges if those circumstances have changed.

Preventing Will Disputes

Most will disputes happen because of a lack of clarity, failure to update information and taking into consideration potential factors while drafting wills. Regular updates help to ensure that your will reflects your current circumstances and relationships. Clear language helps prevent ambiguity where people might interpret things differently than you intended. Explanations for unequal distributions help prevent misunderstandings about your intentions.

You’re not trying to create a perfect document but one that gives clear instructions so your wishes can be fulfilled without your family members causing conflict because they have different interpretations of your will.