As a beneficiary, it sounds pretty simple on paper. Someone dies and their stuff gets passed down to the people in their will or trust. Easy enough…
Right?
Nope.
Estate fights happen way more than you might think. Family members argue. Executors embezzle money. Wills get contested. Before you know it, your inheritance has become a legal tug-of-war.
Thing is…
Beneficiaries have specific legal rights that protect their interests. And you can use those rights to your advantage to protect an inheritance.
In This Guide:
- What Rights Do Beneficiaries Actually Have?
- Common Reasons Estate Fights Happen
- The Legal Grounds for Contesting a Will
- How to Protect Your Inheritance
- When You Need Professional Legal Help
What Rights Do Beneficiaries Actually Have?
Every beneficiary has specific legal rights under Florida law. And those rights exist whether there is a will, a trust, or neither.
- The right to information: Beneficiaries can demand accountings from the personal representative or trustee. They are entitled to know where estate assets and debts are, and how distributions are being handled.
- The right to timely distribution: Executors and trustees have a fiduciary duty to distribute assets within a reasonable amount of time. Unnecessary delays can be challenged.
- The right to fair treatment: Those responsible for managing an estate have a legal duty to act in the best interests of all beneficiaries, and not just one or some of them.
- The right to contest: If something doesn’t look right with a will or trust, beneficiaries have legal standing to challenge the estate plan. We will discuss the legal grounds for doing that below.
Beneficiaries can take legal action when these rights are violated. A qualified probate litigation attorney can evaluate the situation and advise on the best course of action to protect their client’s interests.
Common Reasons Estate Fights Happen
In most situations, estate disputes don’t just come out of the blue. They result from predictable situations.
- Unequal distributions: When one sibling receives more than another, resentment can fester. Even if the deceased had good reasons, other family members often disagree.
- Executor misconduct: When someone in charge of managing the estate has enormous power, that individual can abuse that power in various ways – from self-dealing and hiding information to playing favorites among beneficiaries.
- Unclear will language: If a will is vague on key points – for example, says to give someone “a fair share” or “as you see fit” – different people interpret that differently.
- Family dynamics: Old sibling rivalries, long-standing grudges and other unresolved conflicts have a way of bubbling to the surface when there is a lot of money involved. The estate becomes a new source of conflict between people who should be helping each other through a difficult time.
- Blended families: Second marriages, stepchildren and children from previous relationships create complex and difficult situations. Without careful planning, these dynamics frequently result in estate litigation.
According to GrowLaw research, 35% of American adults have either personally experienced or know a family member, friend, or co-worker who has experienced a family dispute due to not having proper estate planning documents.
That’s over one in three people who have been affected by preventable conflict.
The Legal Grounds for Contesting a Will
Florida law allows will contests when the following can be proven:
- Lack of testamentary capacity: The person creating the will was not of sound mind at the time. This is due to dementia, Alzheimer’s, mental illness or other cognitive impairment.
- Undue influence: Someone used manipulative tactics on the person making the will. For example, caregivers, new spouses and close friends. And the influence was so strong that the resulting will no longer represented the true wishes of the deceased.
- Improper execution: Florida has specific rules about how a will must be signed and witnessed. Fail to follow any of these steps, and the entire document could be invalidated.
- Fraud or forgery: This is when someone tricks the person making the will into signing a document or forges their signature.
Timing is of the essence here…
Florida courts have strict deadlines for filing a will contest. If the period to file runs out, you lose the right to contest the will forever.
How to Protect Your Inheritance
Beneficiaries have to take steps to protect their inheritance. Waiting and hoping things work out rarely benefits the person at the receiving end of an estate fight.
- Request regular accountings: Beneficiaries have a legal right to know what is happening with estate assets. Ask for and review detailed reports of income, expenses and distributions.
- Document everything: Keep a copy of any letters and emails sent and received from the executor or trustee. Save voicemails and take detailed notes during phone calls. This evidence can become critical if disputes intensify.
- Know the timeline: Know when you are supposed to receive distributions and other benefits under the will or trust. Unreasonable delays may indicate foul play and may be worth further investigation.
- Watch for red flags: A few things to look out for include:
- Lack of communication from the executor
- Assets and/or debts disappearing or being changed without explanation
- Missing or incomplete documentation
- Clear favoritism for certain beneficiaries
- Suspicious last-minute changes to estate planning documents
- Act quickly: As the saying goes, the longer you wait, the harder it becomes to do something about a problem. Assets can be lost. Evidence can disappear. Statutes of limitations can expire.
When You Need Professional Legal Help
Family members can often work out estate issues through basic communication. At other times, it is necessary to involve legal professionals.
Time to call in the pros when…
- The executor won’t provide information
- Estate assets are being mismanaged or stolen
- The will contains suspicious last-minute changes
- Distribution timelines are consistently pushed back
- Beneficiaries are not being treated fairly
A Florida probate litigation attorney brings to the table the experience and expertise that will even the playing field. An attorney knows procedural requirements, knows how to gather evidence, and will advocate on your behalf in court.
The LegalShield study found that 58% of respondents have experienced family disputes in connection with estate planning failures. The survey found that the majority of these disputes could have been resolved faster had the family sought proper legal counsel.
Bringing It All Together
Beneficiary rights exist for a reason: to protect beneficiaries from executor misconduct, unfair treatment and fraudulent documents.
The problem is that most people don’t know their rights. Or when those rights have been violated.
This guide is meant to address that problem.
To recap:
- Beneficiaries have rights to information, fair treatment and timely distribution.
- Estate fights often result from unequal distributions, executor misconduct and family dynamics.
- Will contests require specific legal grounds like undue influence or improper execution.
- Beneficiaries should document and communicate everything to protect their inheritance.
- Legal help becomes necessary when disputes escalate and core interests are at stake.
Estate litigation is no one’s idea of fun. No one. But when your inheritance is on the line, taking action beats doing nothing.
The assets your loved one worked their entire life to accumulate deserve protection. And you deserve to receive what is rightfully yours.
