Probate and Contested Inheritance
If you or, more likely, your parents, did an old fashioned will, then the administration of the gifts contained in that will must be probated. This means that the will must be filed with the Superior Court and some, most or all of the actions taken by the Executor to collect the assets and distribute them to the next generation will have to be approved by a judge. The probate process takes a minimum of eight months, and can often take a year or more. You will need an attorney to help you through this process.
We are very experienced in working with the probate courts, so let us help you. We will try to make the experience as painless as possible.
Of course, the best answer here is to avoid probate all
together by doing a revocable living trust. See our articles on
this site regarding trusts. However, in dealing with
parents or older relatives, the old ways die hard, and
you may find yourself administering a will under the
supervision of the courts.
Will and trust contests arise when the beneficiaries
disagree about how the bequests are to be made. This is
more common than most people think. Fighting within the
family is always difficult. We try to do everything possible
to work out an agreeable solution, so family members can continue to speak to each other over the coming years.
However, if reasonable compromise is not possible, we
won’t hesitate to take the case to court.
"We try to do everything possible to work out an agreeable solution, so family members can continue to speak to each other over the coming years."