Analysis: here are four reasons why families end up in dispute with oneanother over inheritances and wills
By Stephan Köppe, University College Dublin
Inheritance gone wrong is a popular theme in fiction. In the recent German miniseries The Funeral, the one-sided will of the family patriarch unhinges the entire ceremony, and long-held hostilities are aired at the grave.
In our research, we tried to understand why families go to court to fight over inheritances. We found that there has been an increase in inheritance disputes reported annually since 1985. Using digital case reports databases, we selected 32 court cases which took place in England in 2014 to analyse closely, providing detailed insights into contemporary family life.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Radio 1's Ryan Tubridy Show, readers' comments about the anger and heartbreak caused by farms and inheritance
Here are four reasons why families can end up in court to contest a will – and how to avoid a court battle.
Wealth
Families go to court if there is something worth fighting for. Smaller inheritance disputes are more likely to be settled out of court. If you have substantial assets to bequest, inheritance planning becomes extremely important.
Owning a business
Physical assets are extremely hard to share and distribute among family members. This makes the bequest of the family home a difficult matter, especially if one child continues to live in the family home. If the house is shared among the siblings, the child living in the family home would be asked to take out a mortgage to pay their siblings.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Radio 1's Today With Sarah McInerney, barrister Tim Bracken on the issue of wills and inheritance
It is even worse, however, for physical assets relating to a working business, such as farm land. Typically, people aim to protect the family business by passing it on to one heir. Problems can arise, though, if a family member is promised the inheritance or given a "verbal indication" that they will receive it – and perhaps works in the business in expectation of it – and is then left out of the will.
A promise can be enforced in English law, though, so an heir can have a very sound legal foundation to claim these promised property rights in court. This is especially if they have acted in the past on the expectation of this promise being fulfilled, such as carrying out refurbishments or renovations.
Sibling rivalry
Most of the conflicts we came across in our research took place among members of the same generation. Sibling rivalry and envy is a key reason to go to court over an estate. More siblings and a large extended family make it harder to find common ground about a fair share of assets.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Achives, Peter McNiff carries out a vox-pop for RTÉ News in Wicklow Town in 1982 about making a will
The legacy of divorce
Conflicts between ex-partners can become battles fought in court between children and the surviving parent.
One of the cases we studied concerned a deceased mother and the tax due on her pension. She had had pension assets in her ex-husband's business, but had transferred them before her death to ensure that they were passed on to her children, and not to her ex-husband. This is an example of how unsettled divorce conflicts can continue to haunt children even after their parents have died.
How to avoid conflict
Inheritances provide a way to maintain social status or get on the property ladder. Drawing from our court case examples, families should follow a few simple rules. Open and honest communication is essential. In many cultures it is a taboo to talk openly about death, but communicating your intentions and expectations during your lifetime will reduce stress and the possibility of unwelcome surprises for your loved ones.
Keeping your promises is key. In other words, don't change your will at the last minute on your deathbed – this can be easily challenged in court.
And finally, children who fear being left out should seek constructive, non-confrontational conversations during the lifetime of their parents. Building such mutual expectations during the lifetime is key. Afterwards, families are only left with judges as arbitrators.
Stephan Köppe is Assistant Professor of Social Policy at University College Dublin. This article was originally published by The Conversation.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
