How Can Making a Will Reduce Family Conflict?

When a parent or grandparent dies, the distribution of that family member’s estate can result in a significant amount of family conflict. In some cases, family members are already at odds with one another, making conflict nearly inevitable. In other cases, family members who previously got along with one another and often found grounds for compromise can find themselves disagreeing with one another about the distribution of assets in the aftermath of a loved one’s death. As an article in Psychology Today suggests, conversations about a family member’s estate “are some of the most dreaded but still necessary ones families need to engage in.”

You may be able to reduce conflict in the future by making a will now, and having those difficult conversations with your loved ones to ensure that they understand your wishes and so that there are limited grounds for anyone to contest your will. Our New Jersey estate planning lawyers can say more.

Setting Forth Your Wishes and Sharing Them with Family Members

By making a will and then discussing the details with your family members and any other beneficiaries, you can clarify that your will contains your wishes. When beneficiaries (or other family members who have not been identified as beneficiaries) understand that your personal wishes have been detailed and validated in a will, there may be less conflict over your will in the future.

Ensuring That Your Will Meets All Requirements and is Self-Proving to Limit Will Contests 

To ensure that family members or other beneficiaries do not have the ability to contest your will (and potentially win their case), it is critical to ensure that your will meets all requirements set forth under New Jersey law. By having your will notarized along with your witnesses, you can also make your will “self-proving,” which means the probate court will accept it as it is without having to go through the will with your witnesses. By reducing the likelihood of a valid will contest, you can ultimately prevent some conflict among your family members after you are gone.

Knowing That You Have the Ability to Amend Your Will in the Future 

In some cases, families that are currently in conflict may realize, after learning about a parent’s or grandparent’s estate plans, that learning to get along and compromise is the only way to share the assets that parent or grandparent wants to leave. In other words, any family members you cut out of your will may change their actions and behavior if they know you might ultimately change your mind.

Knowing that you can revise your will should also reduce any existing internal conflict for you. If you ultimately decide a decision you made in your will was not the right one, you can change it.

Contact a Summit, New Jersey Estate Planning Attorney 

Making a will and discussing the details of it with your loved ones, along with other elements of your estate plan, is a good start to reducing family conflict over your estate after you are gone. It can be difficult to have these conversations, and certain family members may not understand the decisions you have made, or may not agree with your decisions. However, by clarifying your wishes, you can ensure that your assets will be distributed the way you want them to be while also reducing the likelihood of informal family conflict or legal issues such as will contests. To find out more about how making a will can help to reduce family conflict in the long run, you should get in touch with one of the experienced Summit estate planning attorneys at Dempsey, Dempsey & Sheehan. We can begin working with you today on your will, as well as other important elements of your estate plan.

Sources:

law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-3b/

psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-heart-of-the-matter/202505/estate-planning-for-families-in-conflict