Grounds for Contesting and Challenging Wills in South Carolina
Most people assume that a last will and testament, or at least a document purporting to be one, is the final say in what happens to a person’s estate. But there are ways to challenge wills in South Carolina, provided that certain criteria are met. Even if you have grounds for doing so, you may …
How to Become the Personal Representative of Your Parents’ Estate
Children often want to ensure that their parents’ estates will be properly administered after their deaths. Parents, in turn, naturally desire that their children should take over their personal affairs after they pass away. The personal representative is the individual responsible for taking care of a person’s estate, and there are several different ways to …
What to Do if Your Trustee is Making Improper Investments
One power that trustees have is to make investments of trust assets. Although trustees are granted a certain degree of authority in their investment decisions, that authority is not absolute. It is governed by both the terms of the trust and state law. Investing is an area that often engenders mistrust between beneficiaries and trustees, …
How a Trustee Should Handle an Unhappy Beneficiary
The trustee of a trust is responsible for managing trust assets in the sole interest of its beneficiaries. The trustee stands in a special relationship of fiduciary responsibility to the grantor of the trust and to the beneficiaries. Where the beneficiaries’ expectations are in line both with the trust’s terms and the law, there should …
What to expect if you are challenging a will in South Carolina
A last will and testament should accurately reflect what a person desires to happen to his or her estate upon death. However, not all wills are created equally. For one reason or another, a will could be suspect. Loved ones may question the circumstances in which the document was drafted and executed. In still …