You have probably heard about families that fall apart after a strong mother or father figure passes away. At Hall Ricketts Gurbacki, P.C., we know that there are many unavoidable emotional issues involved in most estate matters. While there is no escaping the fact that your children might struggle with each other while trying to fill a void left by your passing, there could be a way to reduce the risk of disagreement.
Many will contests in New York are based on a handful of arguments. One of the most common of these is a claim that testatorial incapacity. You could potentially reduce the efficacy of these arguments drastically by bringing an advisor in for consultation.
We believe that most attorneys feel the same way about the estate planning process that we do here. We consider the drafting of a will to be a perfect opportunity to help our clients establish a framework for what should happen to their holdings after they are gone.
To make sure that a client’s wishes are executed, it is important that we get to know the long-termgoals and expectations of each individual. To know this, we must enter a complex conversation with the testator — one that would certainly be difficult to hold were the mental capacity of our clients diminished in some regard.
Most lawyers are not psychologists, of course; few have the training to identify those who are legally unfit to draft wills. However, we do believe that few attorneys could draft a satisfactory will without a certain level of mental fitness on the part of the testator. We also assume that any heirs would recognize this fact and avoid contests to attorney-advised documents, at least under claims of diminished capacity.
Especially if you plan to write controversial terms into your will, it could benefit you to seek some sort of advice during the process. Please continue on our main site to read more.