Most families don’t expect a legal fight after losing someone, yet many disputes start with something surprisingly simple: unclear beneficiary language. A will or trust might look fine on paper, but once people start applying it to actual property, gaps appear. Those gaps often turn into full-blown lawsuits.
Where Ambiguity Creeps In
Most of these issues come from shortcuts, such as using old templates, relying on vague descriptions, or assuming everyone will “just know” what the person intended. For example, if the decedent had written “the family home” but owns more than one property, which one transfers? Similarly, if they say, “divide equally among my children,” does that include stepchildren, estranged children, and a child who passed away?
Blended families run into this all the time. A phrase that once fit the family may not fit it years later. If the document never gets updated, the wording stays frozen while the family situation keeps changing.
How Courts Approach These Disputes
When a dispute lands in court, judges start with the written document. They try to honor what’s on the page, not what family members believe the decedent “would have wanted.” If the language is unclear, courts sometimes look at outside evidence, including drafts, notes, and emails, but only to interpret the wording, not to rewrite it.
If the ambiguity is severe enough, a court may set aside the unclear provision entirely. When that happens, the asset follows default probate rules, which can send property to people the decedent never intended to benefit.
How to Reduce the Risk Before It Starts
Most of these problems are avoidable:
- Use full legal names
- Specify addresses
- List account numbers when possible
- Lay out what happens if a beneficiary dies first or chooses not to inherit
- Update the plan whenever major life events occur
Working with an attorney who drafts with real-world disputes in mind can save surviving family members from stress, cost, and conflict later.
Talk With Our Team
At Wickersham & Bowers, we help clients put together estate plans that hold up when families need them most. If you’d like to review or update your documents, call 386-252-3000 or reach us through our contact form. We’re here to help you protect your plans and your family’s peace of mind.
