Grappling with Allegations of Improper Wealth Transfers
Aside from the appointment of guardians for surviving minor children or disabled adult children, most wills and trusts that are the core of estate plans have to do with the transfer of wealth across generations. Disputes over wealth transfers may make up the subject matter of:
- Estate or trust litigation
- Litigation over alleged financial exploitation of elder or disabled individuals
Wealth transfer disputes may focus on conveyances of money and property that have occurred before or after someone has died.
Disputes over the transferring of money and property in families and among other interrelated people (such as business partners) often have strong emotional components. In other words, a sense of betrayal, resentment or compassion for vulnerable family members may be the impetus for wealth transfer litigation. The attorneys of Flournoy McLain, P.C., are available to help you evaluate and create strategies for legal action in support of your goals.
Examples of Wealth Transfer Disputes
Previous clients have benefited from our advocacy in disputes over issues such as the following:
- Gifts that a parent made to other siblings or a business partner made to other business partners, or that any adult made to a love interest before death: Were those gifts intentional? Were they perhaps coerced or inappropriate? Were these gifts made so shortly before death as to be questionable?
- Gifts between spouses (especially second or third spouses): Were these gifts excessive and ethically questionable with regard to the estate overall?
- Allegedly inappropriate financial arrangements, such as a joint account, a life insurance beneficiary designation, the inheritance structure of an individual retirement account (IRA) or the configuration of other investments, such as gambling pools: Was the person exploited? Was a change of beneficiary designation on an insurance policy made when the person was mentally competent and truly acting of their own free will?
- Gifts made between a guardian and their ward or a guardian and a conservator: Were such gifts ethical with regard to the terms of the guardianship and/or conservatorship? Was there any impropriety involved?
- Gifts between someone with a power of attorney and the principal: Were these gifts legal? Were they, perhaps, made in an attempt to skirt probate laws?
- The sale of real estate or business interests before someone’s death by someone else with power of attorney for that now-deceased person: Were the transactions in the decedent’s interests and/or in accordance with their wishes?
For an attorney’s evaluation of your potential legal action regarding any such wealth transfers or any estate or trust litigation, contact Flournoy McLain, P.C.
Get Legal Advice Regarding a Wealth Transfer Dispute
Discuss your concerns with a lawyer and make a plan of action. Request a meeting with one of our trial attorneys about a wealth transfer dispute. Call 469-983-7575 or send an email inquiry.