Handling wills and trusts can be tricky and are rife with opportunities for fraud. This article explains common fraudulent acts a trust or probate attorney may face.
Fraud is the act of deceiving, lying, or tricking a grantor that leads to benefits for the person committing the fraud. There are multiple deadlines that you may pursue litigation within depending on your state, and it’s important to act quickly.
You have 90 days to contest a will, 60 days to contest a trust, and possibly only 20 days for wills if you are served with a formal notice of the proceedings.
There is fraud in the inducement that occurs when a bad actor deceives a testator or grantor into believing something that isn’t true and this directly impacts the final will or trust.
For example, a person may lie about a beneficiary’s character, which makes the testator allocate funds away from the beneficiary to the person committing the fraud.
Fraud in the execution occurs when a person lies about a document to get a testator or grantor to sign the false document.
It can be hard to believe that someone deceived another in order to get more money from a will or trust. However, cases like this do happen and you must be wary of them if you’re handling trusts. Contact a probate or trust lawyer for assistance.
