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What should be done ahead of time, if family members do not get along?

The issue of blended families and dealing with trust issues while estate planning, was recently discussed in a Market Watch advice column titled “My mother-in-law is deceitful — can we stop her from stealing my wife’s inheritance?“.

In this particular case, a man and his wife believe that his mother-in-law is evil and deceitful. They are convinced she will hide assets and fraudulently transfer accounts to herself, as soon as the wife’s father passes away.

The father will not say much about it, other than stating that his children will be taken care of. They wonder what they can do to prevent this from happening and whether they should hire an attorney.

As the advice columnist points out, there is not much that can be done before the father passes away.

Hiring an attorney might just make the problem worse, especially if it angers the father.

They might also be viewing the mother-in-law incorrectly and she might have no plans to steal anyone’s inheritance.

It may be best to deal with an potential issues after the father passes away.

Reference: Market Watch (Jan. 8, 2018) “My mother-in-law is deceitful — can we stop her from stealing my wife’s inheritance?

Mr. Amoruso concentrates his practice on Elder Law, Comprehensive Estate Planning, Asset Preservation, Estate Administration and Guardianship.