From time to time an heir who has been disinherited may be able to convince the Executor or Trustee of a family estate to make provisions to include the omitted heir in the estate distribution.  When this happens, the question may arise, can the settlement be handled quietly and without complicated Probate Court proceedings?  Unfortunately, this is normally not possible.  Once the testator has died, the Court will refuse to change any aspect of the terms of a will or trust, regardless of how small or trivial the change may be, unless and until it is established that all affected heirs are in agreement and the change is legally proper.  This is because the wishes of the decedent are deemed to be more important than the feelings of omitted heirs and must normally be followed to the letter.  Moreover, any changes to the distribution rights of heirs must be formalized into a written agreement signed by all heirs and submitted to the Probate Court for review and approval.  This may involve a relatively technical legal proceeding that normally must be handled by a qualified attorney, familiar with the Byzantine Probate Court rules.

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