Illinois Estate Planning and Elder Law Blog
Handling the estate of a parent who has passed away can be very emotional for children, and this process can be even more emotionally tumultuous if their parent’s estate plan contains unexpected surprises. In cases where assets are not split evenly among children or there is an heir that comes forward that was not known about, children may feel pain or betrayal.
According to a 2022 Ethos survey of 1,000 adults, although 68% of Americans say that discussing end-of-life preparations with loved ones is important, only 47% have done so. 34% of millennials are unsure if their parents even have an estate plan according to a 2024 report from online estate planning service Trust & Will.
Clients choosing to not share information about their estate with their heirs can put estate planners or financial advisors in the challenging position of sharing this information after the client’s death.
“I think a lot of lawyers are hesitant to point out the ramifications of some of these things,” says New Jersey-based estate planning attorney Martin Shenkman.
Unexpected heirs and beneficiaries
One way that an estate plan may contain surprises is when assets are left for an individual, pet, or entity (like a charity or alma mater) that the family wasn’t expecting to be a beneficiary. A previously unknown heir may also step forward, such as a half sibling that other children of the deceased parent did not know about.
A 2023 LegalShield survey that polled 1,316 adults found that 36% of people with a will say that there will contains surprises for their beneficiaries.
Also, according to a 2013 study published in the Nevada Law Journal, about 3% of wills in the U.S. are contested.
In cases such as heirs coming forward who were previously unknown, the will is the first to consider. If the will is written in a vague or unclear way (such as stating that assets are to be split “among my children” without naming individuals) there might be disputes requiring court intervention, says Mitch Mitchell, Trust & Will’s probate expert. He says it is rare for genetic testing to be required to prove that this heir is related and that half siblings don’t have to prove who they are more than the deceased parent’s other children.
“As for inheritance divided equally, while states may vary regarding how much of a share a half sibling is to receive, this variation generally only exists when a half sibling is inheriting through a sibling, not a common parent,” says Mitchell. “Generally, for inheritance through a common parent, half siblings receive the same inheritance in equal parts with all other siblings.”
If the deceased individual had no will, property is divided according to a state’s intestacy laws, and closest relatives are typically favored.
In next week’s post, I will write more about potential complications related to surprises in one’s will.
For help with your estate plan, contact us at Wilson and Wilson Estate Planning and Elder Law, LLC at 708-482-7090.