Grandma dies. The fruit of her loins begins a fight to death over the property she left behind.
Joined by the Grandchildren, perhaps with the intervention of siblings and in-laws, the war over Grandma's "dead left" will rage for decades.
If there is a Will, there's a Writ, and arguments over validity will commence. If there is no Will, then it's a duel to the death, over that shack in inner ghetto and that .5 diamond ring.
There is no "winning" . One might gain that car and lose her brother. One might get the deed to that house, and have no visitors.
Is it worth it?
Wise parents will give away their property during their lifetimes, or sell it, and put the money in a trust specifying the percentage each is to get. Where there is a sum of money, and it is set to be divided as sixty per cent to be shared equally between the three children, twenty per cent to be shared equally among the grandchildren, and of the remainder, specific gifts to others is stated, it's pretty hard to argue.
Where a person has varied pieces of property scattered about, and has either left no will or left a will which doesn't specifically state; "Blueacre goes to my son David, and Greenacre to my daughter Lisa," one has fired the first shot in the War.
Unless you hate your children equally, or want to prove to them that they've always hated each other, let the games begin. If you are looking for peace, then be very specific and always leave some clause; "The residue of my property which was not specifically named is to go to----(Name of Person or Charity)."
As a child or grandchild in this situation, think before you act. Do you really want to devote the next decade of your life fighting with your siblings over Grandma's property? Some children have lived all their lives waiting for their parents to die to grab their property. Are you one of them? Some children/grandchildren might know that Grandma wanted them to have the house by the lake or the piano, but the idea of having to hire a lawyer and fight their relatives over it is so disheartening, the prefer to pack up and move a hundred miles away.
Lawyers buy yachts when middle class people fight over Grandma's "dead left". There are always "spin off" cases, in which Big Son had paid light bill on Grandma's apartment now demands repayment with interest when Big Daughter gets the keys, and Grandson who is living in Grandma's house is to be evicted when Uncle Bob demands the premises.
To have to "prove" your case might demand so many documents and so much research, that your lawyer will be driving a Benz while you have had to sell your Honda and take the bus. Do a Google of "Hattie Green", and see how millions of dollars were squandered arguing over a will. And think to yourself; "Is fighting over Grandma's Dead Left how I wish to spend the rest of my life?"
