Last Will & Testament
What is a Last Will & Testament?
Last Will & Testament
What is a Last Will & Testament?
Last Will & Testament
A Last Will & Testament is a legal document which sets out the will maker’s directions as to who should receive his or her assets upon their death.
When individuals pass away without a will, the State shall control how their assets are distributed. The State isn’t interested in reducing costs, streamlining the distribution of assets, or making sure that the deceased individual’s wishes are carried out. This happens while the financial and family affairs are public record since the State is administering the assets as the State sees fit.
Keep a Regularly Updated Will
- To ensure that the bequests are current
- To ensure that the beneficiaries are current
- To ensure that new assets have been addressed in the will
- To ensure your Estate is administered in a cost-efficient manner & maximizes the inheritance received by the beneficiaries
Last Will & Testament
- Disposition of wishes and assets at death
- Does not plan for disability
- Personal Representative must be appointed by Court in order to act
- Must be “proved” in Court
- Becomes public record
- Estate Administration is under Court’s oversight
- Validity is highly state-specific
- More prone to contests due to public & legal notice requirements
- Property in multiple states means multiples Court proceedings
- Probate is time-consuming, which may delay distributions
- Does not protect your heirs’ inheritance from divorce or creditors, or themselves
- Does not provide protections for heirs, if your spouse remarries
- No tax reductions
- Cannot include overseas savings or assets
Trust
- Disposition of wishes and assets during life & at death
- Can plan for the incapacity of the Trustmaker
- The successor of your choosing takes over at death (or incapacity) without Court involvement
- A contract that speaks for itself
- Trusts remain private
- Administration occurs privately between trustee & beneficiaries
- The governing law of Trust prevails
- Less prone to contests
- Can only be contested by a disgruntled heir/beneficiary
- Probate is unnecessary, if properly funded
- Little to no delays in making distributions to beneficiaries
- Protects heirs’ inheritances from divorce, creditors, and even themselves by implementing safeguards until they are more mature to handle a large inheritance
- Protects heirs’ inheritances, if your spouse remarries
- Reduces excise, gift, estate, and generation-skipping taxes
- Can include overseas savings and assets
Terms
Testate
The condition of having died with a valid will.
Intestate
The condition of having died without a valid will.
Decedent
The individual that has passed away.
Cont’d
Testator
The individual who makes the will.
Beneficiary
One or more individuals that receive assets from a decedent.
Bequest
Property given by a will.
