Study identifies estate-planning choices most likely to spark disputes among heirs

A new study has identified the estate-planning choices most likely to pit heirs against one another, drawing on an examination of thousands of civil filings scheduled to come before San Francisco Superior Court.

By reviewing contested trust disputes filed with the court, researchers were able to identify patterns in the types of estate arrangements that tend to generate conflict among beneficiaries after a person's death or incapacitation.

Trust disputes have become an increasingly common feature of estate settlements, particularly as families grow more complex and assets more varied, creating more opportunities for disagreement over how a decedent's wishes should be interpreted and executed.

The court filings reviewed for the study offer a window into the kinds of provisions and circumstances that most often lead heirs to challenge a trust in court, information that estate planners and families may find useful when structuring their own arrangements to minimize future conflict.

While the study's findings are based on cases specific to the San Francisco jurisdiction, similar dynamics around contested trusts and heir disputes are commonly observed in estate litigation across other jurisdictions as well.