The Challenges of Leaving Inheritance to a Non-Family Member
Many people in Florida establish stronger connections with friends than with their family members. You don’t get to choose your family members, but you do get to choose your friends. In a way, this makes friendship inherently more meaningful. What might happen if you decide to leave behind the lion’s share of your wealth to a friend rather than your family members? Could a Tampa estate planning lawyer help in this situation?
Current Estate Planning Law Is Geared Toward Families
The first thing you need to understand is that probate and estate planning law in Florida is almost completely family-focused. Take the laws of intestate succession, for example. These laws state that if you die without a Will, your estate will pass to your closest living family members. This is true even if you have bad relationships with these family members. If nothing else, this stresses the need to write a clear and valid Will if you plan to leave your wealth to close friends.
Current laws may evolve as fewer people have children and get married. These trends are already increasing rapidly, and many people today find themselves growing old with no close living family members. As a result, more people might want to leave behind assets to close friends rather than blood relatives.
Any Intestate Heir Can Challenge Your Will
You should also know that your family members may challenge or “contest” your Will if you do not leave them anything. Under Florida law, your family members can contest your Will even if they were not named as beneficiaries. As long as they would have inherited sums due to intestate succession, they can try to invalidate your Will in court.
With the right legal assistance, you can prevent your family members from doing this after you’re gone. A family member may try to argue that your friends somehow coerced or tricked you into leaving them everything. This can be a surprisingly strong argument, especially if you struggle with dementia or other forms of incapacity before passing. These potential challenges highlight the need to work with an experienced lawyer.
Consider Lifetime Gifts
Lifetime gifting is a relatively simple strategy to avoid many of these potential issues. As the name implies, lifetime gifting involves giving your friends assets before you pass away. This not only allows you to circumvent potential Will contests, but it may also lead to certain tax benefits. Consider discussing this option with your estate planning attorney.
Can a New Port Richey Estate Planning Lawyer Help Me?
A Seminole estate planning lawyer can help you achieve various goals, whether you want to leave your fortune to friends or family. You might also choose to donate some of your fortune to charitable organizations. Whatever the case may be, you can implement strategies to avoid probate issues with Knudsen Law. Contact us today to schedule your first consultation.
Sources:
leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0732/0732.html
nytimes.com/2023/04/29/business/friends-wills-inheritance-beneficiary.html
