Probate Family Feud: Top Reasons Why Families Fight Over Estates

There are fewer things that bring out as much raw emotion as death. Along with sadness and the anguish, it’s also common for surviving kin to experience anger and confusion.

If the deceased failed to legally handle the affairs of their estate, then family fights and raw emotions take center stage. Below are a few of the most common reasons why families fight each other in probate court.

Sibling Resentment and Entitlement

It’s common for siblings to find that they engaged their deceased parent differently. The type of relationship that siblings have their parents often depends upon aspects such as personalities, geography, proximity, and birth order.

No matter why one child was closer to the deceased parent than the other (or others), it’s common for anyone feeling emotionally left out to challenge the estate. They feel that since they were denied emotional access to their parent, they’re entitled to physical access of the assets.

Blended Family vs. Original Family Members

Things can become sticky when the issue of blended family members vs. original family members receiving the deceased’s assets comes into play. For example, the deceased’s natural children might resent stepchildren sharing in the estate. The original spouse of the deceased might take issue of subsequent spouses seeking estate assets, too.

Then there’s the issue of adoption. If the deceased adopted any children, especially if the adopted children were past a certain age, then the natural children might not treat the adopted child like a true member of the family Instead, they may shut them out.

Assets of High Value

Assets of high value include real estate, companies, vehicles, artwork, and insurable jewelry. Inheriting assets of high value would allow survivors to sell the asset in order to gain access to a lot of money.

But for this reason, other family members might try to block inheritance. And if the inheritance involves a company and the succession of its leadership, battle lines could be drawn to prevent estate decisions that other survivors aren’t in agreement with.

Handling affairs after the death of a loved one is hard enough, and probate law is often complicated. Reaching out for a probate attorney in Las Vegas pro should be the first things you do after making final burial or cremation arrangements.