5 ways to safeguard your estate plan
Creating an estate plan is a complex process, and ensuring your estate plan is strong enough to withstand legal challenges after you pass away is a good idea. Estate plans are living things – they should change and grow as your life changes and grows. An experienced estate planning attorney in Milwaukee like myself, Paul Margerie, can help you ensure your estate planning documents are legal, comprehensive, and kept up-to-date as you and your family go through life. Once you pass away, everything will be in order to ensure your wishes are carried out – even if your beneficiaries, family members, or others try to challenge your estate plan.
At Margerie Law, I help individuals and families prepare comprehensive estate plans to protect their future, with a focus on young families. While we’d all like to believe that, once we pass away, our wishes will be accepted by everyone in the family without question or confrontation, this is not always the case. If you’re concerned about your estate plan being challenged or causing conflict once you pass away, here are some tips for strengthening your estate plan.
- Draft a living trust. A trust is a legal entity that “owns” whatever property is put into it. You, the “grantor,” decide what property to transfer into the trust. A trust is significantly more difficult to challenge than a will, and those who are not beneficiaries of the trust or directly related to you cannot see the details of the trust. A trust is also useful in that it can help your loved ones avoid the lengthy probate process after you pass away.
- Have a medical professional attest to your competence. If you are concerned that someone will challenge your wishes as set forth in your will by claiming you were not of sound mind when you wrote it, consider having your physician draft a notarized, dated letter attesting to your competence. This is especially relevant if you have experienced a brain injury or have a dementia diagnosis. If this is a concern for you, repeat this step each time you update your will to ensure the latest drafts of your documents cannot be challenged in this way.
- If you choose to disinherit someone, put it in your will. Family relations are complicated and can change with time. If you’ve decided to disinherit someone previously named as a beneficiary in your will, it is smart to outline this decision in the will. Rather than giving a reason for your decision to disinherit the person, the details of which could be challenged, it’s best to just acknowledge that you are not including that person as a beneficiary in your will.
- Consider a no-contest clause. A no-contest clause is not always appropriate, but in certain circumstances it may help protect your estate plan against challenges. In general, a no-contest clause dictates that a beneficiary who raises a challenge to the will is penalized (usually by disinheritance). In the State of Wisconsin, a no-contest clause will not be upheld by the court if the person challenging your will has probable cause for their concern. So when is a no contest clause appropriate? If you have a beneficiary, such as a child or sibling, who is known to cause drama for its own sake and you’re concerned they will challenge your will for no good reason, drafting a no contest clause could provide motivation for them to keep the peace unless they have a solid, justifiable reason for their challenge.
- Ensure all of your documents are legal and align with state law. Mistakes related to how a will or trust document was drafted, signed, or notarized leaves your estate plan open to challenge, so ensuring all boxes are checked is critical. Working with an experienced estate planning lawyer to draft your documents is the best way to ensure you are in accordance with state law and protected against challenges of this type.
Estate planning is complicated. Let me help make it a little easier. If you have questions relating to wills, trusts, powers of attorney, probate, or are looking to get started creating your estate plan, call Margerie Law today. Proudly serving Wauwatosa, Milwaukee, Brookfield, and surrounding communities.
