Absolute Trust Talk

You’ll find no shortage of captivating stories in the realm of estate planning. Tales of barely legible handwritten notes found in obscure places that detail a decedent’s wish to bequeath their fortune to someone they had only just met. Or accounts of family members becoming estranged and a child or other loved one is left out of the estate, which is then capped off with the ever-popular “no contest” clause threat. Life is complex, and so are family dynamics. Some family relationships fray while others grow stronger, and it’s not surprising that these shifts are often memorialized in estate plans. But is it really possible to freeze a family member out of an estate and insert a “no contest” clause to safeguard from challenges? Does this provision truly hold up in the real world, or would a particular disinherited relative have any recourse if they find themselves in that position? And how does the clause change if an opportunist unduly influenced or preyed upon a decedent? For the answers to these questions a