In California and around the country, inheritance disputes sometimes arise after people die. Family members may file lawsuits to prevent people from inheriting from estates if they believe that the people caused the deaths. In a case that was filed in New Hampshire, a man’s aunts are suing to try to prevent him from inheriting money from his grandfather’s estate because his aunts believe that he killed his grandfather and his mother so that he could inherit the money.
According to news reports, an 87-year-old real estate developer was murdered in 2013 with an assault rifle. No one has ever been arrested or charged in the case. The man left behind $29 million that was to be divided among his four daughters, including the younger man’s mother.
After his grandfather’s death, the man and his mother were on the man’s boat when it mysteriously sank, killing the mother. Her sisters filed the lawsuit against the man because they believe that he killed both his mother and his grandfather in order to inherit the $7 million his mother would have received from her father’s estate.
Probate litigation may involve many different types of disputes. When a person dies with a will, some interested parties may sometimes claim that the will was invalid. Wills that are declared to be invalid by the courts are disregarded, leading the courts to dispose of the assets according to the state’s intestacy laws. Lawsuits may also be filed when some family members believe that a person who stands to inherit caused the death of the person who died and should thus be prevented from inheriting from the estate. People who want to challenge wills, defend wills or to prevent others from inheriting because of their wrongful acts might want to consult with an experienced Orange County Inheritance Disputes Lawyer about their individual facts and circumstances.