Difficult problems may arise when our loved ones die, age, or lose mental capacity, or become vulnerable to the influence of others.
Legal problems of this nature may relate to a Will, Power of Attorney (POA), gifts or transfers of assets, and/or the general administration of an estate, and may include issues with respect to the interpretation of a Will or POA, capacity, undue influence, demands for proper accounting, and breach of trust or fiduciary duty.
These and other problems may raise complex legal questions, which are often complicated by difficult family dynamics and feelings of grief. In some cases, these problems require legal advice, and possibly the assistance of the Court.
Wills and Estates
We can help you with these common problems or questions, and any other concerns you may have, regarding Wills:
- Can I challenge a Will because I have evidence or knowledge that the deceased person did not understand what they were doing when they signed the Will, or was pressured to sign the Will? In other words, did the testator have capacity, or was the testator unduly influenced?
- Is a particular Will, or clause in a Will, valid and properly relied on?
- Is a particular document a valid Will, even though it was not prepared by a lawyer?
- If a person died without a Will, what steps can be taken to distribute their property, and who can take those steps?
- Am I entitled to share in the distribution of an estate if there is no Will?
- What are my legal rights if I was promised property before the deceased person passed away, and this promise is stated in the Will, but the deceased person no longer owns that property when they died?
- Did the deceased person intend to make a gift of property to me, or to someone else, before they died? Is this gift legally enforceable?
- Does a jointly owned bank account belong to the estate, to be shared with beneficiaries described in the Will?
- Does jointly owned land belong to an estate, or to the surviving joint tenant on title?
- Is advice required from the Court for the proper distribution of property that is described in a Will?
- Did the deceased person properly provide for his or her dependants?
Power of Attorney
Please contact us if you need help with these common problems or questions, and any other concerns you may have, regarding POAs, which may include:
- Did a grantor have capacity when they signed a POA?
- Was a grantor unduly influenced when they signed a POA?
- Is the POA properly relied on?
- Did the attorney act property when he or she used a POA?
- Was the grantor taken advantage of?
- What are my options if I have evidence or knowledge that a grantor has been taken advantage of?
- Is the attorney under a POA required to deliver an accounting to the grantor or surviving family members?
Estate Administration Disputes
You may require our legal help if you are encountering any of these common problems or questions in the administration of a deceased person’s estate, or any other problems involving an estate:
- Is a contract with a now-deceased person still enforceable?
- Is the executor of an estate:
- taking appropriate steps or taking too long?
- acting in the best interests of the beneficiaries?
- following the wishes of the deceased?
- entitled to be paid for work done in the administration of an estate?
- allowed to be reimbursed for costs, including legal fees and accounting fees, incurred while administering an estate?
- How do I remove or change an executor or administrator of an estate?
- Did the executor or administrator deliver the required accounting of actions carried out in the administration of the estate?
Our experienced team can help you work through these and other difficult problems. We provide practical advice to help minimize disputes, and assist in the resolution of all types of problems. We will defend, pursue, or help negotiate solutions.
We look forward to helping you work through any problems in relation to your loved one or property of a loved one.
