(916) 775-8542 
Inheritance Heists Ch. 12: Stepmother Conflicts Over Estates and Trusts
I’m Mike Hackard with Hackard Law. I’m sharing passages from my new book Inheritance Heists – and I hope that they can help you avoid estate disaster.
Today I’m going to cover a prominent aspect of blended family estate disputes, stepmother conflicts.
Few situations are as emotionally charged and potentially devastating as inheritance disputes involving stepparents. And unfortunately, it’s often biological children who suffer the tragic consequences.
Tragically, the scenario frequently unfolds and defies expectations. We have litigated dozens of these cases and the typical scenario is as follows:
The wife survives her husband. She changes the estate plan to cut out her husband’s biological children. Using her power of invasion (meaning appropriation), she takes most of the estate and makes it her separate property, putting it outside the reach of her husband’s biological children.
The husband’s biological children often remain unaware of these changes until: they inquire about the trust; or the stepmother dies, and they’re informed they’ll receive nothing.
The essence of this scenario is a profound betrayal of trust. The father assumed his wishes would be honored, but greed takes over, leaving his children disinherited and often bitter.
At this point beneficiaries will contact me and seek litigation or a mediated solution, as I’ve covered in previous videos. To prevent these tragedies well beforehand, focus on clear communication and professional estate planning for both spouses, and make sure the children are informed about key estate decisions.
If you need help in a stepmother dispute over an estate or trust, you can call us at Hackard Law: 916-313-3030.
We want to hear your story.