Common Reasons Family Fights Develop over Estates

There are five common reasons that fights break out within families over settling an estate.

Family members can easily become embroiled in a battle over an estate. Sometimes it is just because family members don’t like each other. However, there are actually five common reasons for the disputes, according to Wealth Management in "Five Reasons Families Fight over Estates." 

The reasons include:

• When one sibling lives close to their parents and another lives a great distance away, leaving the sibling who lives closest more assets can lead to disputes.
• If a wealthy person gets remarried later in life and leaves a large portion of their estate to the new spouse, fights between that spouse and children from previous relationships are common.
• Any blended family situation can lead to family battles over estates, if proper plans have not been made.
• When wealthy people leave large sums to a trusted caregiver, then it is likely the family will fight with the caregiver over those assets.
• If any person has not adequately prepared and drawn up proper estate planning documents, then family fights over the estate are very likely.

Reference: Wealth Management (Jan. 30, 2017) "Five Reasons Families Fight over Estates."