Will and trust fraud is a serious crime that can have severe repercussions, including the creation and use of a fraudulent will. This act compromises the integrity of these estate planning documents. Worse yet, it jeopardizes the entire estate. If you suspect someone has committed fraud when creating, executing, or administering one of these instruments, acting immediately is imperative. However, you must first understand what constitutes fraud in a will and trust. Here is our guide:
What is Will and Trust Fraud?
Will and trust fraud occurs when someone intentionally employs deceptive legal practices to intentionally misrepresent the truth and cause another person to suffer losses. Unfortunately, will and trust fraud is more common that it should be.
To further complicate matters, fraud within the context of wills and trusts is complex and can often be entangled with wrinkles and conflicts that span generations and lifetimes.
Fraud can occur at different stages of creation, execution, and administration. Moreover, these issues involve several concerned parties and interests, so working with a premier estate litigation attorney to prove or disprove fraud in your unique situation is essential.
Here is what constitutes fraud from conception to administration:
Fraud in Will and Trust Creation
Will and trust fraud can occur starting at the creation of the document. Fraud during the creation of one of these instruments can manifest in many different ways.
For example, when creating the terms of a trust or will, if the creator receives false or misleading information about the terms, document, beneficiaries, or other integral facts about the instruments, this constitutes fraud.
Another common type of fraud is when someone pressures, or unduly influences, a person to change a will or trust. In most cases of undue influence, the coercion victim is older and suffers from physical or neurological impairments, like dementia or Alzheimer’s.
Anyone close to the creator, whether it is a caregiver, friend, or family member, could potentially and subtly coerce them.
Related Article: How to Prove a Forged Will Signature in Court
Fraud in Will and Trust Execution
Will and trust fraud can also occur in the execution stage. Fraud at this phase can take many different forms as well.
For example, if someone forges the signature of the person executing the document, this constitutes fraud. Similarly, if someone misleads the creator and misrepresents the document’s contents or intentions when signing it, this is a type of fraud, too.
Fraud in Will and Trust Administration
There are innumerable examples of will and trust fraud in the administration phase. The trustee or executor must adhere to regulations and laws and act in the creator’s interest and the best interest of the beneficiaries.
This phase is when most parties typically perpetrate the most fraud, including actions that can invalidate a will, making it a fraudulent will, so it is crucial to be vigilant during this stage. If a trustee or executor deliberately decreases the value of an estate or a family member hides or destroys a trust or will, this can constitute fraud.
Still, there are countless examples at this phase, all of which require a premier attorney to evaluate and prove, such as:
- Commingling (mixing personal assets with estate property)
- Breaching trust or will terms
- Self-dealing
- Will and trust mismanagement
- Failure to account
- Embezzlement
- Squandering assets
- Breaching fiduciary duty
- Misappropriation of assets
- Misrepresenting financial information
- And much more
Contact a Premier Attorney to Combat or Defend Against Will or Trust Fraud
Wills and trusts are critical estate planning instruments, and these documents hold considerable power and jurisdiction over an estate. Because of this, interested parties sometimes try to commandeer and manipulate them for their gain. When this occurs, this is fraud, and contacting the preeminent estate litigation lawyer is essential to rectify this and preserve the integrity of an estate.
Luckily, at Gokal Law Group, our premier attorneys possess the leading expertise and an unfaltering dedication to clients and preserving their estates. Contact us for a consultation.
12 Responses
Thank you for expressing that it is crucial to see a top estate litigation lawyer in order to establish or refute fraud in your particular circumstance. My friend fell victim to a scam when purchasing a home. I’ll advise him to contact an estate administration lawyer to assist with his case.
At the point when a skilled group commits itself to unselfish trust and joins senses with intensity and exertion, it is prepared to climb.
The bond that connects your actual family isn’t one of blood, however of regard and satisfaction in one another’s life.
I appreciate you noting that trusts and wills are essential estates planning tools and that they have significant authority and control over an estate. My mother wants to obtain her estate’s will. I’ll advise her to get a wills attorney to prevent fraud.
My name is Jason Robert (Wright) Edwards and my families estate was stolen from me by my brother Jim Edwards and my step-sister Treva Wright. Including the life insurance from both parents . The lawyer they hired (Anna Richter) had informed me that there was no family estate with the exception of the sale of the house in Littlefield which they sold without my permission for $9000. And that my part of that was a little over $1200. Now my dad had a will and so did my mother and both had life insurance and they were heavily vested with Edwards Jones and Associates investments. I have tried to report this to the local authorities repeatedly. The local authorities even refused to take a report that my personal property was stolen and my civil rights were violated on several occasions. I need a lawyer and I need to know what steps I have to take to make the parties that are responsible for this assault on my rights and my property be held accountable for their actions. I am aware that this will be a multi facetted case that even includes offenses committed by the state of Texas and that it involves several parties that have unlawfully attacked my person by violating my civil rights. I don’t know who to go to because the agency that was supposed to be helping me were the ones attacking me. Please help because I had everything from my freedom ,my name, and even my children taken from me illegally and have no help in these matters from anyone. I’m not stupid by any means but one person against such an overwhelming attack has inhibited my ability to stand up for myself and my rights.
I can not find an attorney to represent me in the state of Arkansas due to the fact the people that committed fraud are a group of attorneys, guardian, and hospital member of elderly services. My stepmother’s attorney betrayed her, targeted, exploited, mistreated her. She paid him to do her will and refused to give to her. I have journal entries of the abuse from my stepmother. The hospital member was caught trying to bully my stepmother in changing documents and was removed by security. Two estates were to be passed down to me and these attorneys kept it all.
This sounds really great but the fact is if you don’t have money and you are a beneficiary that is being screwed over by a trustee that is also a sibling you don’t have a chance in hell because no lawyers will take a case even if there is evidence of fraud. No money no justice
Without contesting we need to get information from a website legalzoom as to what edits and changes were made electronically and printable. We suspect the daughter changed his will and we are hitting brick roads trying to get the info we need to contest. What can we do? Is there any agency out there that can look into our suspicious so we have more to contest with?
My sister fraudulently altered my dad’s will or used undo influence for her own gains , I wrote the original and took him and his witnesses to get it notarized. The only thing original was the witness page and dates. I need help desperately there’s a lot more to the life changing event.
I am a Trustee of a property. The trust says the property has to be sold and split in three ways. The one beneficiary says she is entitled to the property because she wants to lease it. She hides and conceals the trust and petitions the court to remove the Trustee. The Trustee got ahold of the Trust after a previous Trustee passes away after 6 months and finds out the beneficiary attempts to lease the property but the police are called to stop her. She attempts again to have her lawyer call me and tell me that she is going to lease it. She then wants to be the Trustee to gain control of the property and wants to be repaid back of all of her expenses. Is the Trustee wrong..this is crazy
Need help with at least suing my uncle for not doing his part on the will.
Me, brother and mother all had trust funds, mineral rights, life insurance and stocks. My mother was even supposed to get a monthly allowance. We got nothing and was left out of everything. My mother being the only daughter of 5 with a disability, my grandpa told us she would never have to worry about money again but sadly my uncles are greedy and are taking everything and doing some illegal real estate.
Do you just handle California?