Figuring out how to distribute your assets is a key portion of the estate planning process. As you get deeper into it, though, you may find yourself more concerned about keeping financial resources out of the hands of those you no longer trust. Fortunately, you can use the estate planning process to disinherit individuals, too. To minimize any risks associated with doing so, though, there are steps that you’ll want to take.
Disinheriting someone can be as simple as clearly articulating your intentions in your will. But to truly protect the viability of your estate plan you may want to go a bit further. This can include doing the following:
- Discussing the matter with your loved ones: Before disinheriting someone, it might be a good idea to discuss the matter with your family. That way everyone understands your expectations and your intentions. This may reduce the risk of your estate plan being challenged once you pass away.
- Using letters of instruction to specify your reasoning: Again, it may be helpful to specify your intentions so that your loved ones understand why you’ve created your estate plan in a particular way. Once they know the justification behind disinheriting one or more individuals, they may more easily come to terms with the reality of the situation, which could reduce conflict and the risk of litigation.
- Visiting the doctor prior to the execution of your estate plan: Disinherited individuals oftentimes try to argue that the estate plan’s creator lacked testamentary capacity, thereby rendering the estate plan legally invalid. By visiting the doctor close in time to the execution of your estate plan, though, you can establish that your decision to disinherit someone was made with mental competency.
- Securing multiple witnesses who can observe the execution of your estate plan: To support a showing of mental competency, it may be helpful to have several witnesses available to observe the execution of your plan. These individuals can then attest to your mental acuity at the time. Don’t be afraid to interact with these individuals so that they can really speak to your condition when your making important estate planning decisions.
- Using “no contest” clauses: The way you craft your estate plan may dissuade disgruntled family members from litigating the issue. A no contest clause essentially tells beneficiaries that if they try to challenge your estate plan and are unsuccessful, then they’ll lose the inheritance that you’ve left to them. This can be effective if you’ve left them a fairly significant inheritance, even if it’s less than they may have been expecting.
- Using lifetime gifts: There are advantages to giving gifts during your lifetime. Up to a certain amount, those gifts can be tax free, and you can witness your family member use those assets. But lifetime gifts can also offset any disappointment an individual may have about being disinherited in your estate plan.
Craft the custom-tailored estate plan that’s right for you
There are countless ways to develop an estate plan. You have to find the strategy that makes the most sense for you, your circumstances and your vision of the future. With so many options, though, it’s easy to get tangled up in the details and become confused. Fortunately, this isn’t a process that you have to navigate on your own. Instead, you can work closely with your estate planning attorney to ensure that you make the fully informed decisions that advance your best interests and give you peace of mind that your affairs are truly settled.
