A Legal MinuteWill contests & capacity
How Early Disclosure Can Cause Confusion in Estate Plans
The short answer
Sending out a copy of a will early can create confusion if the plan later changes. In a hypothetical, a parent leaves assets in thirds to three children, then cuts out one who went to prison. That child still has the old copy and may claim the siblings convinced the parents to disinherit them.
From the full episode Avoiding Probate Litigation: Practical Strategies for Families in Arizona (19:59).
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Transcript
Say you have an issue with somebody in your will. Say, you know, we'll just use kids as an example. Say you, you know, a third, a third, a third, and then one of the siblings, let's say that they go to prison. They did something and they go to prison and they're never getting out. And you decide, you know what, what they did, I don't want them inheriting from me. I'm just going to give it to my two.
But you've already sent out a copy. Well, now they've got a copy that says they're entitled. And now they're going to say, "Well, my other siblings got in there and they convinced Mom and Dad to disinherit me, and they didn't want that." So now you've created confusion when you were trying to create clarity.
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