For families with significant assets, estate planning is rarely just about taxes. It is about people, too. And when a child is estranged, the planning process becomes much more complicated. Whether you own a business, farmland, or have spent decades building retirement savings, estrangement is not only an emotional reality but a legal risk that your estate plan needs to account for.
If you are reviewing or creating your estate plan in 2026 and you have a difficult family situation, our Yorkville, IL high asset estate planning attorney can help you manage those risks now so you can protect your wishes later.
How Does Estrangement Create Legal Risk in Estate Planning?
When a child is partially or fully disinherited, certain legal challenges tend to follow. The most common are will contests, undue influence claims, lack of capacity arguments, and accusations that another family member — often a sibling or new spouse — manipulated the decisions of the person who made the plan.