Your parents built up their estate over the course of their lifetime. They want their assets to secure the future of their friends and family. They made all the preparations for their estate’s distribution.
When the time finally comes for the reading of the will, someone speaks up saying the will wasn’t fair. A dispute over a will happens quite often. Here’s why someone might fight over a will::
Sibling rivalry
Sibling rivalry is the cause of almost half of all will disputes. Not everyone has a happy relationship with their sibling. Siblings may even have a poor relationship with their parents. This can cause resentment when a will gives one sibling more estate than the other.
A sibling might even feel they should be given more when the estate is equally divided. They may believe they put more work into the care of their parents. They may believe they were closer to their parents. They simply may want more of the estate for selfish reasons.
Addiction
Addiction, whether to drugs, alcohol, gambling or another vice, is a serious problem that can affect people physically, mentally and financially. This may cause someone to fight over a will because they believe they can get more money to support their addiction.
Narcissism
Some people simply believe that they should be the sole inheritor of a will. It’s not that they don’t want others to have anything. It is rather, the world revolves around them (in their minds) and everything in a will should go towards them according to whatever justification they’ve given themselves.
Grief takes on many forms and that could mean someone fighting over a will. You may need to know your legal options if you find yourself involved in a will dispute.