Stop me if you’ve heard this story before: A widow with three grown children needs help as she gets older. She wants to stay in her home for as long as possible, and she is more comfortable with her family than with outside caregivers. One of her children never married, and has had financial and personal (read: drug) problems over the years. This child agrees to live with Mom and take care of her. Mom agrees to leave this child her house, which, it turns out, is most of her estate. Also, this child is added to Mom’s bank accounts to help with paying bills.
Eventually, the other children file a lawsuit, a complaint with Adult Protective Services, and a criminal complaint with local law enforcement’s Elder Abuse Unit. They allege that their sibling preyed upon Mom’s fear of being left alone to die, took advantage of her weakened state of mind, isolated her from other family and activities, exercised undue influence over her, and stole from her.
The beneficiary-child claims that the others abandoned their mother. All they cared about was her money. The beneficiary-child drove Mom to the doctor, did all the chores, took care of her in the middle of the night, and put his/her life and career on hold to do all of this.
Who will win? What will it all cost? That will depend on the provable facts and how well the story is told. It is vital for both sides to hire experienced trust and estate litigators. Did Mom see her doctors regularly? Did an attorney make sure that Mom seemed competent and that she seemed to be freely making her decisions? Was there a written agreement for the beneficiary-child to receive compensation? Did the beneficiary-child spend Mom’s money on his/her own expenses while Mom was alive? If this last one is true, there could be serious criminal charges.
The cost of the litigation will almost always be more than anyone expected. If the beneficiary-child loses, he/she might have to pay all of his/her own legal fees, the other siblings’ legal fees, and up to triple the amount the beneficiary-child received from the estate. If the other siblings lose, by contrast, there is little possibility that they will have to pay damages. The potential cost to them is usually only their own legal fees and costs. But there is always a lot to lose in a trust contest – the wise course is to rely on an attorney you can trust.
Julia C. McBride, Attorney at Law, located at 27720 Dickason Drive, Suite 215 in Valencia. For more information, please call 661-259-7930 or visit www.jcmcbridelaw.com .