Trusts are a powerful tool to protect assets and facilitate the transfer of assets in a way that provides more control after the trust creator passes away. Trusts can also be helpful in avoiding the probate process, and in preparing for incapacity.
There’s also another benefit of trusts as well. Often, a trust is made years before death, with the creator serving as trustee until they become incapacitated or pass away.
This can provide strong proof of the validity of a trust, resulting in a reduced chance of the trust being successfully challenged or of a trust being administered that doesn’t reflect the true wishes of the deceased person (also known as the decedent).
Sometimes, however, last-minute trust amendments will occur shortly before death. These amendments can raise serious suspicions that the decedent was no longer of sound mind or was coerced or defrauded into changing the trust.
It’s important to understand how to spot and fight these suspicious last-minute trust amendments if you believe they are not a true reflection of the desires of the decedent and if they put your inheritance at risk.
A San Diego trust litigation attorney at Albertson & Davidson, LLP can help you to determine if there was a suspicious change to a trust and, if so, will work with you to build evidence and maximize the chances of proving something went wrong and the last-minute change should not be upheld.
To find out more about how we can help, give us a call at (858) 209-2309 or contact us online today to schedule your consultation. You can also read on to learn how to spot suspicious trust amendments and how to fight them.
How to Identify Suspicious Trust Amendments
To identify a last-minute trust amendment that could potentially be suspicious, you need to watch for these red flags:
- The trust creator becomes more isolated
- A caregiver with regular access to the trust creator suddenly inherits over closer family members
- The trust creator is experiencing confusion or memory loss when the change was made
- The trust creator had suffered severe physical decline before making the change
- The amendment was not prepared by the long-time estate planning lawyer of the deceased person but was instead prepared by a lawyer who the beneficiary of the change introduced to the trust creator
- The amendment was kept secret until after the death
Albertson & Davidson, LLP will help you to identify these or other red flags that could suggest that the trust creator lacked capacity to make a change, or made the change only under conditions of fraud, duress, or undue influence.
How to Fight an Amendment
If you want to try to overturn an amendment, it is not enough to simply point to a red flag. You’ll need to file a petition in probate court and back up your allegations with evidence like medical records, witness testimony, visitor logs, and communications between the trust creator and the primary beneficiary of the changed trust.
Albertson & Davidson, LLP will work with you to understand the kinds of evidence you need and to put together the strongest claim possible showing why the trust creator would not want the amended trust to be enforced.
Contact a California Trust Litigation Lawyer Today
Albertson & Davidson, LLP will bring our decades of experience to your claim and help you fight to ensure invalid trust amendments are overturned.
Just give us a call at (858) 209-2309 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.