Estate Litigation

Estate Litigation

The passing of a loved one is a difficult time for the entire family.  Grief is mixed with the necessity that money and property have to be sorted out.

It is very easy for your dearly departed to have made a fundamental mistake in the planning for this event.

And people may feel have been left out, people feel hurt, people feel have been mistreated emotionally or financially.

Litigation happens in the following complicated circumstances, as well as many others:

• There is no Will, or the Will is quite old,  and there is a question of whether mom or dad’s second relationship qualifies them as a legal spouse, which entitles them to a large portion of the estate;
• Property has been transferred by the deceased in their lifetime to one or more of the children but not all the heirs. Many complex legal issues will arise here.  The law will presume that such a transfer is a trust unless there is strong evidence it was a gift. The law will look into the relationship between the deceased and the person who got the benefit of the transfer to see if the transfer arose from undue influence.  It is inevitable that those left out of such a transfer will want to investigate and to pursue legal options.
• The Will leaves uneven distribution to children or inadequate distribution to a Spouse.  The courts have the authority to vary a Will that is unfair to independent adult children, or fails to provide for a child with a disability, or to a spouse.

  These conflicts are expensive, emotionally draining, and complex to resolve.  Often we can use mediation to help the parties resolve the issues amicably.  Sometimes a judge must hear all the evidence and make a decision.

  Mr. Menkes has experience since 1996 in civil litigation with a focus on estate litigation since 2005.  Here are some links to notable decisions Mr. Menkes has assisted litigants in obtaining.