With the increasing age of the general population, the United States is facing an unprecedented transfer of wealth from one generation to the next.  Unfortunately, the potentially good news of inherited wealth is often overshadowed by accompanying litigation.

 

The causes of estate litigation vary.  Sometimes family members die without a will, sometimes the will has been executed but is so vague or imprecise that arguments over the intent of the decedent flare into legal action.  When caregivers are suddenly included as beneficiaries, or when there are major changes in the provisions of a will that occur shortly before death, questions of undue influence or the competence of the testator come into question.  The fact is that large sums of money are magnets for litigation; and with the enormous sums currently passing from one generation to the next, the potential for these battles is high.

 

Although many firms have an occasional estate matter that must be litigated, at Puff & Cockerill, LLC. a three-person team is devoted to the discipline.  Jeffrey V. Puff has been engaged in this area of the law for much of his thirty year career.  Ronald P. Sierzega is an experienced litigator who is an increasingly familiar presence in the probate court.  Susan Cole Carpenter brings to the practice her substantial professional background in the securities industry, a background of substantial value in tracking the money some individuals try so hard to hide.  Whether the challenge is to ascertain precisely what assets comprise the estate, or to find assets that may have been transferred prior to death, the Puff & Cockerill, LLC. team approach has been a successful one for our clients.