Toxic Siblings After Parents’ Death in New York City

The parents’ deaths can cause or exacerbate estrangement and toxicity among siblings, especially when there are disagreements regarding the parents’ distribution of their estates.

Few life events match the emotional turmoil of the loss of a beloved parent. Long-unquestioned assumptions and entitlements around family inheritance can be challenged by a parent’s death, leaving siblings splintered rather than united in grief.

Estate plans meant to smoothly transition assets from departed generation to the next can instead breed toxicity by favoring some siblings over others.

There could be accusations of manipulating the frail family leader as capacity declined to direct improper advantage in documents that shall endure.

Even the favored sibling securing an outsized bequest often feels hollow victory, knowing the bounty came at the cost of relationships now poisoned by fighting over mere things easily sacrificed to maintain family ties. They wonder will contested, strained bonds with brothers and sisters persist long after possessions change hands.

No one departs imagining their carefully constructed estate plan igniting years of court battles culminating in judgments declaring right and wrong, yet failing to make heirs whole again. But neither do parents expect their passing to fuel old grudges that their presence once calmed.

If you have an issue with toxic siblings after the parents’ death, you may need an estate attorney. Whether you are contesting your sibling’s bigger share or are defending your bigger share, we at the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin are here for you. You can call us at 212-233-1233 or send us an email at  [email protected].

How Siblings Become Toxic

Several key sources tend to ignite inheritance disputes arising between siblings after a parent passes away:

• Disagreements before the parents’ death

  Estrangement and toxicity among siblings can start when one sibling has been appointed as power of attorney or as health care proxy, to the exclusion of the other siblings. When siblings have different ideas about how the parent’s disability, medical decisions, and property should be managed, it leads to animosity and conflict.

• Unequal inheritance

  If the will or trust heavily favors one heir over others or entirely omits certain siblings without explanation, predicted reactions are outrage and assumptions of hidden favoritism that breed resentment. Disinherited children feel deprived of expected rights. Even those bequeathed windfalls face backlash over unequal shares fueling a “zero-sum” battle.

• Asset valuations

  Siblings tend to develop vastly differing monetary assessments and emotional attachments to items like family heirlooms, vacation homes or businesses. These divergent appraisals spur debates over who overreached in the distribution proposed by a parent with limited accounting rigor while alive.

• Administration conflicts

  Handling logistics like selling properties, allocating expenses, navigating complex legal processes in probate court and managing trustees spark headaches even in amicable families. These asset consolidation pains exacerbate existing tensions between siblings who have little experience collaborating.

In the intensity of loss, even small slights can compound rapidly. As attorneys, we can help cool tempers through impartial guidance on reasonable options. Open communication channels can help, but fundamental disagreements over equity are hard to resolve and can be a root cause of much toxicity from some of the siblings.

Contesting Your Sibling’s Bigger Share

For disinherited or lesser compensated siblings seeking to contest suspect distributions outlined in a parent’s last will, trust, or ancillary instruments directing inheritance assets after death, the path forward balances complex legal and emotional burdens.

Consulting probate litigation attorneys helps evaluate viable grounds for formally disputing an estate plan in court, such as undue influence or lack of mental capacity to make a will. Selecting aggressive representation in estate contests still need not wholly abandon sibling bonds.

To contest a will, it’s not enough to disagree with it. An omitted child would have to establish one of the following grounds:

1. Technical Failure. There were technical errors in how the will was made.
2. Pressure and Manipulation. Someone pressured and manipulated the person into making the will.
3. Diminished Mental Capacity. The person suffered from cognitive decline that interfered with his ability to understand the will.
4. Forgery. A fake will.
5. Fraud. The person made the will because someone has been lying to him.

To learn more about contesting a will, read our guide to will contests.

Defending Your Bigger Share

For beneficiaries favored in an inherited estate allocation through documents like a will or trust arrangement, suddenly having sibling rivals threaten a lawsuit breeds financial anxiety and frustration amid fresh grief. After burying a beloved parent, now defending their will or trust brings further exhaustion.

Securing quality legal representation proves essential to protect the legitimacy of an estate plan if contests emerge. Competent probate attorneys demonstrate the required soundness of mind in document drafting, confirm binding formalities were followed, and clarify levels of disclosure or accounting issues. They arm clients against speculative allegations.

Winning your rightful distribution will require a thorough proof of the validity of the estate planning documents.

Whether you are contesting or defending your parents’ estate plan, we at the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin are here to defend you against your toxic siblings. We are located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. You can call us at 212-233-1233 or send us an email at [email protected].