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  • Writer's pictureRichard McGinnis Staff

Viral Inheritance story on Reddit has everyone talking About Estate Planning

Updated: May 21, 2022


One woman who has been disinherited in awesome fashion has the internet buzzing with her framed check and has America thinking about the value of a good trust and will attorney. Her father was very careful and purposeful in the inheritance left to his adult daughter, whose estranged relationship played into his estate planning strategy. Growing up, the reddit user, who goes by the name marzirose, had an abusive and alcoholic father and she chose to cut him out of her life as an adult. So he decided with the help of a trust and will attorney to ceremoniously somewhat cut her out of his will, leaving his estate to her other full and half siblings.


In a brilliant and calculated move, to stop her ability to sue her siblings or his estate for being accidentally left out of the will, if he chose to leave her nothing, he used a trust and will attorney to leave her a whopping $1. She framed a check of her huge $1 inheritance, which she calls “hilarious”, and keeps it displayed on her bookshelf.


While others may not find this funny at all, it emphasizes the point that your wishes can be made known so that your estate plan and trust administration can be strategized and executed so that it hard for others to contest your will. If you try a DIY trust mill or online “insert name here” type of will, you’re leaving your final plans up to chance of your heirs finding loop holes to get distributions to go their way. So if you’re looking for estate planning in Roseville, or you’re the heir of the deceased and need a quality trust administration lawyer in Placer County, you can trust your will and estate issues to the Law Offices of Richard W. McGinnis.


Can You Contest A Will if You Disagree With It?


Often in an estate plan if one child or any heirs or beneficiaries are not included, they can use a probate attorney to challenge the will on the basis of being mistakenly left out. Someone may also contest the will if they disagree with asset distribution or they can contest the will for the following reasons:

  1. Undue influence

  2. Not being of sound mind

  3. Breaking state laws

  4. Forgery or fraud

  5. Missing signatures Anyone who disagrees with the trust administration who is eligible to receive a deceased person’s property or assets, including spouses, children, parents, siblings, grandchildren or extended family left out of the will and trust, may contest the will. This is especially true if the deceased left a list of beneficiaries and heirs, and one of those persons was not included in the estate plan.

How Do You Contest A Will Or Trust?




The statute of limitations differs by state, and can range from 30 days to several months. It begins the date the will was filed with the probate court, not the date of death. Contesting a trust is a different timeline, its deadline is 120 days from the date the notice was mailed. Once the probate process begins and you have the option to contest it. Here’s what the process looks like:

  1. Consult an estate attorney in Roseville. While its optional, many people choose to seek the help of an attorney when contesting a will. A qualified Roseville attorney, can save you time in court and increase your likelihood of winning the challenge. So it may be expensive not to use a probate attorney in Roseville.

  2. Your probate attorney will file a claim with the probate court. The claim is filed in the county where the will-maker died.

  3. Your evidence is presented by your probate attorney to the court to prove the grounds for contesting the will. Once your claim is filed, the supporting evidence is reviewed, you may need to give testimony, and answer questions under oath (known as a deposition).

  4. The probate court will decide. If you win, you’ll receive control of the assets you claimed in your challenge.


However, the chances of successfully contesting a will are slim, so you should have a strong case before proceeding. Consulting with a qualified probate attorney will help you determine if you should move forward. Only 0.5 to 3 percent of wills in the U.S are successfully contested. So if you need an estate planning attorney in Roseville, need a quality trust administration lawyer in Placer County or are looking for a probate attorney in Roseville, contact The Law Offices of Richard W. McGinnis at (916) 784-6377.

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