Probate and Trust Disputes and Litigation
When someone passes away, his or her family members must figure out how to distribute belongings, pay creditors, and settle the estate. A well-thought-out estate plan makes this process much easier, or even avoidable. Unfortunately, many people fail to create a proper estate plan during their lifetime and that can cause fighting and problems for the family – either because there is no plan or the plan is deficient. Poorly drafted estate planning documents, such as wills, trusts, or powers of attorney can lead to questions and conflicts by well-meaning family members who struggle to interpret the meaning of provisions in the plan. Reasonable people can disagree about the meaning of a provision in a trust or will. Even worse, many of us have members of our family that can disagree about anything and everything – that makes probate or trust administration disputes fairly common.
Litigation is the process to sort out those disputes through the court system. Litigation is no small undertaking, and is subject to detailed court rules, statutes, case law, and short deadlines that can make or break your case. If you miss court deadlines, you may not be able to sue or get relieve, as such it is imperative that you consult a knowledgeable attorney immediately if you question what is happening in an estate, or if someone is questioning your actions.
The probate litigation attorneys at Woods Law Group help individuals, heirs, beneficiaries, personal representatives (often called executors), and trustees navigate the litigation process to ensure the best possible result.
Probate Litigation – when do I need to hire a probate litigation attorney?
- Who will succeed your business roles and functions?
- Are your successors properly trained and experienced to take over those roles and functions?
- Would other owners or key personnel get along with your successors?
- Should your successor be a family member, existing business insider, or someone currently outside of the business?
- Will your successors share your vision for the company?
- How long will the transition between you and your successor take?
- Will you remain fulfilling a role at the business for a period of time before your successor assumes full responsibilities?
- How will your succession plan operate in the event of your unexpected disability or death?
- How should company assets, bank accounts, investments, and property be titled to ensure a smooth transition?
- Will your successors be able to access your company’s digital assets in your absence?
- Do you hold any specific state licensing requirements that may impose additional succession planning considerations?
- Who will receive your stock ownership or financial ownership interest in the business?
- Should the business itself or other owners of the business purchase or be given the option to purchase your ownership interest?
- Do your existing business documents such as an operating agreement or corporate bylaws already address some of the issues involved in succession?
- How transparent should you be about your business succession planning?
- How will your ownership interest in the business be valued?
- How might the sale of your ownership interest impact your taxes?
Woods Law Group designs custom plans for business owners and entrepreneurs looking to protect the continuity of their business interests. We’ll work closely with you to understand your vision and wishes and customize a plan that ensures the business you’ve built, along with your assets and investments, are protected and seamlessly passed on as you wish.
Documents involved in succession planning generally include powers of attorney, buy-sell agreements, non-disclosure agreements, and general estate planning documents for all the owners of the business. Some of the documents involved will naturally depend on the type of business entity that makes up your business. Corporations often must adjust their corporate bylaws and shareholder agreements. LLCs may need to modify their operating agreement or member agreement. Partnerships will generally need to examine and reconsider their partnership agreement.
Your customized business succession plan will include all documents necessary to legally state how, where, when, and to whom your assets go, plans for incapacity in terms of health care and financial decisions, and any asset protection, new or existing business interests, planning for more complex assets such as restricted stock units (RSUs) or qualified retirement plans and more — depending on your needs.
A business succession planning attorney at Woods Law Group can help you through this process and explain the potential issues unique to your situation and give advice on how to best address those issues.
Our Commitment
Our team will represent you as if you are our family. We earn our clients’ trust and respect by adhering to the core values we consider a commitment to our clients:
