Many people want to know whether they are entitled to an inheritance in the future, and if so, how much the inheritance might be. It can be difficult, if not impossible, to confirm entitlement to an inheritance unless the parent (or other trust/will creator) willingly shares Copies of their estate planning documents (their will and/or trust) with their heirs and beneficiaries.

Prior to Death, a person’s will or trust is considered a private document. A person who establishes an estate plan generally has a right to change, amend, restate, or revoke their will. Upon death, a will become irrevocable. Trusts are also revocable (unless the trust creator sets up an irrevocable trust). Marital trusts may include provisions which establish a portion of the trust which becomes irrevocable upon the death of the first spouse, but it depends on how the trust creator sets up their specific trust.

Heirs and beneficiaries do not have a legal right to obtain copies of a will or trust until the trust becomes irrevocable upon death. Parents can choose to share copies with their heirs and beneficiaries voluntarily, but they are not required to. Once the trust creator passes away, the person named as executor or trustee is responsible for providing copies of the estate plan to the heirs and beneficiaries.

What happens if the executor or trustee does not provide copies of the estate plan?

And what happens if the heirs are completely in the dark about their potential inheritance? The heirs can send a letter to the executor or trustee demanding copies of the will or trust. An example of a demand letter is available here.

The bottom line is that if your parents are alive, you likely do not have a legal right to see copies of their estate plan. There may be an exception (if a living trust is set up to provide funds to a  beneficiary before the death of the trust creator), but most estate plans are established to benefit the heirs and beneficiaries after the death of the trust creator(s). Additionally, the heirs and beneficiaries have no legal right to sue on behalf of inheritance assets that do not legally belong to them (yet).

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