7 Causes of Legal Conflict Between Family Members and How to Avoid Them
In life, your family is often your first priority. However, there can come a time when certain legal issues come between you and the people you love.
This is one of the most difficult things to deal with, however it is possible. If you understand the common causes and what to do about them, you will be more prepared for these challenging situations as they come up. Here are 7 causes of family legal conflict and how to avoid them:
Lack of Communication
Communication is one of the most important parts of any human relationship. However, when it comes to your family, it is even more vital.
These are the people in your life that you should be able to trust more than anything.
If communication breaks down between you and your family, then trust will start to diminish as well. In order to avoid this, have regular family meetings where you put everything on the table.
Discuss the issues that are important to you and be honest about your feelings with each other.
No Estate Documents
Your family’s estate is something that can cause a lot of divide. While everyone is still living, it might not raise too many issues.
However, once a parent or grandparent has passed away, questions start being asked as to who should get which assets, investments, and so forth.
Perhaps one sibling feels that they should receive more than they did. Or in another scenario, multiple relative may wish to live in the house that their grandparents did.
These are just some examples of the issues that can arise if a family does not have official estate documents.
For the reasons above, one of the first things you should do as a family is to hire an estate attorney that specializes in family law.
They can help you determine the size of the estate, how to avoid taxes legally on it, and how it should be divided. That way, things are already codified.
No Will
The problem of not having a will is very similar to that of having no estate plan.. They are often linked. A will is something that should not be put off until the last minute. After all, no one knows when it will be too late.
One of the major problems of not drafting a proper will is that relatives will begin to argue over who owns which piece of property from the deceased relative.
This can be much more costly than simply drafting the will in the first place. The cost will pale in comparison to dragging out multiple legal battles over the course of years.
As a rule of thumb, when you or a relative is older than 55, a will should be a top priority.
It is much better to have one completed too early than too late. In fact, some people choose to avoid this problem by having one drafted way before middle age hits.
No Power of Attorney
If there is one problem that families get into when it comes to the law, power of attorney might be one of the top problems in terms of painful decisions.
Imagine that someone you love is on life support. They are suffering in the hospital. You might just want to let them go peacefully and not try to keep them on machines at the hospital.
While the above scenario might seem like the right thing to do for some people, others would totally disagree.
Families often get into arguments about whether to hand power of attorney over to one sibling, relative, or another person.
It is best to avoid this issue altogether so that the person suffering can have their intentions performed.
Divorce Assets
One of the most difficult processes to go through in life is divorce. When someone you love betrays you, or when your relationship begins to fall apart, it comes with enough emotional pain.
However, to make matters worse, you now must battle them in court for your possessions.
The way to avoid a painful divorce is to have a lawyer for the entire process. A qualified attorney will help you navigate the tricky waters of divorce proceedings.
They can assure that you hold on to all the assets that you are entitled to and even find other sources of income or assets that the other spouse might have been keeping from you.
Child Custody after Divorce
Nothing is more important to you than the health, safety, and emotional well being of your child. However, a divorce can wreck a family.
It has an especially difficult effect on children, who are often not able to mentally comprehend what is happening or why.
This can be one of the leading causes of juvenile depression.
To avoid this, make sure to have honest conversations with your children. Get a lawyer into the picture soon so that they can officially communicate between you and your spouse.
This will prevent emotions from getting the best of you or you saying something that could swing custody the other way.
No Designated Legal Professionals
Much of the problems that families face legally come when they do not have any legal arbiter assigned. This neutral party can be a huge boost to your ability to avoid legal issues.
As the professionals at Wills CNG Lawyers Sunshine Coast have observed all too often, it is only a matter of time before some kind of issues comes up if you don’t have anyone to help you before it grows too large.
When it comes to your family, the last thing you want is to have legal conflicts with them. It can cause a strain on the relationship and make you question the nature of your relationship.
So instead of sitting idly by without a clue of what to do, use these 7 tips above as your roadmap. That way, you can have peace of mind that you will be able to avoid or deal with them correctly.
Category: Law
