Davis & McCann
  • Home
  • Practice Areas
  • About
  • Attorney Profiles
  • Blog & News
  • Contact Us - Directions
  • Make a Payment

Estate Planning Solutions - How To Plan Around Difficult Adult Children

8/1/2019

 
Picture
You know you need to do your estate planning but you have a problem: a “problem child” more specifically, who has caused a kink in your plans. If you have an adult child with a history of mismanaging their life, it’s likely you’ve wrestled with HOW or IF to include them as a beneficiary of your estate. 
​
Having an adult child who struggles through life can complicate an otherwise simple estate plan. When our clients are in turmoil over how to include a problem child in their estate, their adult child usually has demonstrated a weakness in one or more of the following areas:

​

• Gambling addiction
• Drug or alcohol addiction
• History of criminal activity
• Inability to hold steady employment
• History of financial mismanagement
• Mental health issues
• History of unhealthy relationships or marriages
• History of causing unnecessary drama with other family members

Sadly, if you fret that one of your children will be a problem during the administration of your estate, your worries probably are justified. Death does not often bring out the best in people. The stress that arises after a death can heighten behavioral problems. Here are a few things you can do to reduce the chance of your child creating problems during the administration of your estate:

1. Experience matters. If you suspect that one of your children will be difficult during your estate administration, hire the best estate planning attorney you can find. There are many things you can do yourself, but preparing your own estate plan should not be one of them. Experienced estate planning attorneys possess knowledge of sophisticated legal options that rarely are offered to you on internet sites or by attorneys with little or no estate planning experience. 
​
2. Hire a professional fiduciary. If you cannot find anyone to serve as the executor or trustee of your estate, consider this an indicator of brewing problems. It may mean one of your kids has a well-known difficult personality or reputation. If you find this situation to be true, consider hiring a professional advisor or trust company to manage your estate. A professional fiduciary may cost more, but in the long-run it will save legal fees and stress. Professional fiduciaries are accustomed to handling disgruntled family members. 

3. Discourage arguments. Add a no-contest clause to your estate planning documents. This clause says any legatee, devisee or beneficiary who directly or indirectly challenges your Will or the disposition of your assets will be treated as having predeceased you. Some states will not honor these provisions, but Kansas still recognizes no-contest clauses except under certain circumstances, such as where there is “probable cause” to contest the will. An example of probable cause would be if an invalid will was admitted to probate (improperly executed, forgery, undue influence at the time of signing, etc…).

4. Avoid probate. If all of your assets are in a trust or transfer by way of beneficiary designation, probate of your will can be avoided. By keeping your estate out of the courts, difficult beneficiaries have less of an opportunity to contest your will. Any time you need to go into court and give notice to your beneficiaries, the door for a will contest is opened.

5. Limit Control. Be selective of whom you place in positions of authority in your estate. When you choose your Executor, Trustee or even Agents for your Powers of Attorney, you should consider their temperament and ability to work with other family members and professionals such as attorneys, accountants and financial advisors. Avoid placing the “problem child” in any position of responsibility. Restricting the amount of influence this child has on estate decisions will make the process run smoother.

6. Disinheritance. This in an option of last resort and not one we often encourage. There are estate planning techniques that can be employed that will provide an inheritance for the problem child, without the need to disinherit them completely. However, we understand this option exists for a reason and sometimes there are no other suitable resolutions. 

Estate planning for families with a problematic child isn’t easy, but it is something an experienced estate planning attorney can help you through. For more information, contact Davis & McCann, P. A., Dodge City, KS. We are members of Wealth Counsel, a national consortium of Estate Planning Attorneys and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). We focus our practice on providing clients with the best legal advice on Estate Planning, Medicaid and Long-term Care Planning, Family Business/Small Business Succession Planning, Probate, Trust Administration, Real Estate Transactions, and related matters.

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    NEWS YOU CAN USE

    Davis & McCann, P. A.,
    ​A Premier Estate Planning law firm in Western Kansas

    Archives

    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    May 2017
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    September 2014

    Categories

    All
    10 Year Anniversary
    Attorney
    Business
    Conservatorship
    Dodge City
    Elder Law
    Estate Administration
    Estate Planning
    Executor
    Firm News
    Guardianship
    Kansas
    Kristina Crawford
    Long Term Care Planning
    Long-term Care Planning
    Medicaid Planning
    Megan-l-mccann
    National-academy
    Probate
    Real Estate
    WealthCounsel

    RSS Feed

107 Layton Street, Suite A
Dodge City, KS 67801
620-225-1674

Davis & McCann,P. A. is a premier Estate Planning law firm in Dodge City, Kansas, assisting Western Kansas clients with Estate Planning, Probate, Trust Administration, Business Formation, Business Succession Planning, Farm and Agricultural Business Succession Planning, Real Estate, Elder Law (Medicaid and Long Term Care Planning).  The information found on this website is for informational purposes only and is not a legal opinion, does not provide legal advice for any purpose, and neither creates nor constitutes of an attorney-client relationship.
© 
  • Home
  • Practice Areas
  • About
  • Attorney Profiles
  • Blog & News
  • Contact Us - Directions
  • Make a Payment