Issues In Trust & Estate Litigation: "Undue Influence" Claims On The Rise

By now, most estate planning attorneys, wealth advisors, and litigators are familiar, or at least becoming more acquainted with the overall rise in trust and estate conflicts. Some of the legal and societal factors contributing to this litigation trend include an aging population, life-lengthening advances in medicine, second marriages, sibling rivalries, and the adoption of the Uniform Trust Code by approximately two-thirds of states. But perhaps most importantly, the stakes are higher now than they've ever been. According to this 2015 study, over the next 30 to 40 years, $30 trillion in financial and non-financial assets is expected to pass from the Baby Boomers to their heirs in North America. And in an increasingly litigious society, where cable news and social media often turn these private, family probate matters into high-profile, viral sagas (e.g., Prince, Sumner Redstone, Donald Sterling, James Brown, Anna Nicole Smith), it's no surprise more Americans are