Estate & Probate Disputes

Wisconsin probate can be a long and demeaning trek through the courts and a drain on family resources. Few legal strategies are more rewarding for everyday folks than Probate Avoidance.

Let Kammer Law Office, S.C., put things in order now rather than later.

So Dad died, and now you are learning that things were not as you expected.

For one thing, Dad left a large part of his estate POD or "payable on death" to some other relative. And he left a will favoring the other relative over you. Perhaps there were things you thought he owned that just don't seem to be around. You are becoming suspicious that something is not right.

Everything may just be fine-but it takes some looking to find out. Did Dad transfer assets late in life? Did he give a power of attorney to someone-and did that person "re-title" assets so that they did not follow Dad's will? And as to the will itself-who is the lawyer who drafted it? Dad's long term trusted advisor, or maybe one with loyalties to the favored beneficiary? And what does Dad's medical file say about his competence on the date the will was executed?

Most lawyers look at the will, look at who witnessed it, and decide whether the will can be "upset" in court. And the chances of that are not really good. Is that the end of it?

You need somebody on your side - and that's us.

We are winning these cases. The witnesses to the will always tell the same story: Dad was competent, otherwise we would not have signed as witnesses. But did they really check Dad out? What did they talk about? Who was with Dad at the will conferences-and who was in the room when the will was signed?

Even if the will can't be challenged on its face, there are things to be done. Did somebody feed Dad a line about you, or about himself, so that the old man was improperly influenced in his decisions? Did someone tell Dad lies about you that left him with delusions about your loyalty or personal life? Did someone interfere with your inheritance?

And what about this person with the power of attorney (called the "attorney-in-fact")? Did he help himself to Dad's wealth-or help another? Has he fully accounted-shown you every dime he got since becoming attorney-in-fact, and shown you just where it went? He has a duty to do this, and can be forced into it.

What are the circumstances surrounding the re-titling of Dad's assets to "pay on death" to someone other than you? When did that happen? And did someone influence Dad into doing this against his better judgment (or the better judgment he had when he was younger and not being pushed around by a greedy relative)?

To get to the bottom of something like this, you need lawyers who have been around the dance floor a few times. Uncovering wrongdoing is not intuitive-the lawyer has to know where to look and what questions to ask.

Maybe everything is on the up-and-up, and you will get what Dad wanted you to have. But maybe not. There will come a day when it is too late to ask-so call us as soon as you have a solid basis for suspicion. You need somebody on your side - and that's us.