“I’d definitely say I’ve had more will contests in the last six months than I had in the first three years [as probate judge],” said Newington Probate Judge Robert A. Randich. “No doubt the economy has something to do with it.”
Randich has had four cases involving contested wills in the last few months after handling only a couple in the last three years. Economic pressures play a part and there’s usually a communication breakdown in a family that strains relations further, Randich said.
“People are watching each dollar with greater scrutiny,” he added, and they’re more likely to challenge wills in court.
East Hartford Probate Judge Allan T. Driscoll has four ongoing contested will cases where in the past he wouldn’t see more than one at a time. “I’m attributing it to the economy,” Driscoll said.
While I think the economy has much to do with the uptick in will contests, I'd propose another reason: the modern American family.
Families are more separated like no other previous generation. We text and email and Facebook, but very few families live in the same town anymore and have sunday night dinners together or frequent each other's homes.
Siblings are often separated by states rather than a few miles. And when that happens, often communcations break down and misunderstandings arise.
The parents end up unknowingly being the foundation of the family: the peacekeepers and moderators. Unfortunately, in my experience, when the parents pass on, with that lack of moderation , all of that built up lack of communication is exposed raw to the world and disagreements over the silliest and smallest things can arise.
I'm not sure society can change in this respect, but perhaps our means of communication and community can.