COVID-19 May Lead to a Rise in Contested Wills
For a variety of reasons, our shelter in place may cause a spike in contested estates. Here are five reasons for this potential rise.
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Signing Becomes a Challenge
People may not be able to sign in person, so they could “e-sign” on their Wills and other essential documents. Unhappy beneficiaries could challenge these remote signatures. The same goes for witnesses and notaries. If witnesses are observing signatures over Zoom, is it legitimate? The answer to this is no.
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Witnesses Must Not Benefit from the Will
Generally, witnesses in the execution of a Will are not supposed to be beneficiaries. When the people creating such documents are only seeing immediate family members, this means they may only be seeing their beneficiaries. Who else can legally bear witness?
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Significant Asset Drops Can Cause Disputes
Accounts, in some cases, may be worth half what they were worth before March 2020. These precipitous plummets in assets can create a lot of mistrust, and may lead to disputes over asset holdings.
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Limited Funds Lead to Desperation
People are stressed in this pandemic. Jobs have disappeared, and many sources of income have dried up with everyone staying in. When people are living on more limited means, they may look to other opportunities – challenging the Will of a distant, deceased relative, for example – to help cover their expenses.
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Improper Record keeping
The stresses of the quarantine can cause people to lose sight of their record keeping. Taking careful notes, and taking pictures of relevant documents as they are signed, may avoid later questions about the validity and propriety of that paperwork.