kate_nepveu: Unsolicited advice

Kate (

kate_nepveu) wrote,
@ 2006-09-26 07:24:00

Entry tags:

recommendations

Unsolicited advice

If you aren't absolutely positive that your heir under your current state's law is the person you want to inherit your estate, make a will.

That is all.

(Post a new comment)

	redbird 2006-09-26 12:14 pm UTC (link)
	Yes. Do you have an opinion about the Nolo Press DIY books? Specifically, for someone who wants to specify "and if my state-law-defined heir predeceases me, I want these other people who are not my legal relatives to inherit"? (Reply to this)(Thread)

kate_nepveu
2006-09-26 01:58 pm UTC (link)

I haven't looked at them.

My guess is that they'd be okay with the formalities of executing the will, as they're pretty mechanical--though if this is a question for you or someone else in NY, I'd want to check that, as NY is particularly strict about the formalities of who signs when and how, and about referring to other documents (basically: don't).

The things I would want to think about, which may or may not be raised in the books, are (in no particular order):

* Specific stuff. According to my prof, people always spend more time thinking about which relative should get this piece of jewelry/painting/set of china/book--and then it turns out the stuff was broken or sold or lost. Did you want someone to have _that specific thing_, or the *value* of the thing?

And who's more important to you, the residuary beneficiary (the person who gets everything that's left--usually this is the case) or the specific beneficiaries? If you leave a lot of specific stuff, your residuary beneficiary may end up with nothing.

* Deaths. Who should receive the gift if the beneficiary has died first? If all the beneficiaries die first?

* Births. If someone is born, do you want to provide for that contingency?

* Marriage and divorce. Really, you should just change your will if either of these occur.

* Prior wills. If you have one, have you formally revoked it?

* Disinheriting. Is there someone you really don't want to share in your estate, no matter what?

The best thing you can do is be as clear as possible in your own mind about what you want to happen and then do your best to communicate that clarity in a properly-executed document. It's hard to think of all the contingencies, but the ones above are the ones that come up the most.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

montoya
2006-09-26 06:28 pm UTC (link)

Clearly, wills should be written in pseudocode.

if (deceased.spouse.isSurviving) {
  spouse.inheritance = estate.totalValue;
  estate.totalValue = 0;
} else {
  if (deceased.children.count > 0) {
    perChildInheritance = estate.totalValue / deceased.children.count;
    foreach (child in deceased.children) {
      child.inheritance = perChildInheritance;
      estate.totalValue -= perChildInheritance;
    }
  }
}

if (estate.totalValue != 0) {
    crazyUncleJoe.hitJackPot();
}

	kalmn 2006-09-26 03:55 pm UTC (link)
	ianal but i do have an opinion. (you're shocked. i know.) if you're not expecting the will to be challenged, DIY with the nolo press books would probably be okay, i figure. (with kate's reservations below, since she is a lawyer.) if you're expecting that there will be problems, then i would pay some nice lawyer to make it as airtight as is possible. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	veejane 2006-09-26 12:14 pm UTC (link)
	Oh! Oh! I learned this one! If you don't own a lot, or don't have a lot of specific bequests to third cousins, you can do it in an hour. And, if your name is Ted Williams, you can make a will on the back of an envelope, and it's still good! (Reply to this)(Thread)

	kate_nepveu 2006-09-26 01:59 pm UTC (link)
	You could in New York too, but you'd still need it to be witnessed (unless you're in an armed conflict or are a mariner at sea!). (Reply to this)(Parent)

	kate_nepveu 2006-09-26 02:02 pm UTC (link)
	Sorry to say this, but whoever let him make a will that would only be good for nine months at most was not really very helpful. Sorry about your dad. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

	kate_nepveu 2006-09-26 04:45 pm UTC (link)
	I can see what they were thinking in the short term, but in the long, yes, I do wonder if that's what Auden would have wanted. I think I suggested to my law prof that mystery novels were a good source of examples for what not to do with wills. => (Reply to this)(Parent)

	threeringedmoon 2006-09-26 02:12 pm UTC (link)
	Jack and I made wills a few years ago by going to an estate attorney, and it was a surprisingly painless procedure. The one thing I was adamant about was that my (totally worthless) ex-brother-in-law wouldn't have any chance of getting any money left to me to my niece and nephew while they were still minors. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	kate_nepveu 2006-09-26 04:47 pm UTC (link)
	Left by you to your niece & nephew, I presume? Yes, leaving stuff to minors is tricky. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

	kate_nepveu 2006-09-26 04:48 pm UTC (link)
	Anyone with children must have a will and make provisions for guardianship, period, end of sentence. So you were very right. => Good for your state, too, making forms available. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

	thette 2006-09-26 03:11 pm UTC (link)
	As always in such situations, check your local laws first. A badly written will can be worse than no will at all. (For example, in Sweden, if you've got children, they've got the legal right to half your estate shared equally, no matter what a testament says.) (Reply to this)(Thread)

	kate_nepveu 2006-09-26 04:51 pm UTC (link)
	Really? That's fascinating. In the US you can disinherit your children (except in Louisiana, that whole Napleonic code thing), though it's really disfavored if you don't have a spouse. Some states (but not all) prohibit you from disinheriting your spouse, however. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

	castiron 2006-09-26 04:11 pm UTC (link)
	I've been thinking about the will issue for a while now -- since I have a mentally disabled child, the DIY will options are a bad idea, but the estimate I've gotten on a good probate lawyer's fee is pushing a month's pay. Eventually I've have enough saved up to do it. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	kate_nepveu 2006-09-26 04:52 pm UTC (link)
	Yes, that's a tricky one--I presume you're thinking about some kind of trust? That is, as they say, beyond the scope of the present document. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

	rachelmanija 2006-09-26 07:25 pm UTC (link)
	I should add: I actually did write up a letter stating my wishes, which my father has. But it's not co-signed or anything. Also he is a space cadet and may have lost it. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	kate_nepveu 2006-09-26 10:20 pm UTC (link)
	A living will is something that I should have and don't. Must take my own advice--thanks. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

	kate_nepveu 2006-09-27 12:53 am UTC (link)
	Glad to be of help. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	thormation 2006-09-27 05:15 am UTC (link)
	I'm just glad that you're a year too late to give this advice to my wife's father. Not that he would've taken advice from you, seeing as how you are a woman. (Reply to this)

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