PSA: Wills and probate

[texsuze]

Last night I attended a seminar, sponsored by a local senior center, on wills and probate. An estate attorney spoke on the topic and gave out notebooks with examples, definitions, forms, etc. DH and I both have wills we've written in the last 5 years or so, but this seminar provided some real food for thought as we think about tweaking those documents.

I guess the take-home messages, from this attorney, were:

1. A well-thought out, carefully composed will is a gift to those who survive the deceased. It can streamline the probate process, possibly save some expense, and hopefully reduce some of the stress of the event.

2. In addition to an executor, a person should definitely consider naming an alternate (not co-) executor in their will. Time passes, things change, situations arise and if the sole executor faces his/her own life crisis at the time the person dies, that executor may not be able to take on the responsibility handed to them when the will was first written. The attorney gave some examples of such a scenario in his talk last night.

3. Every state is different where wills and probate are concerned. Things like community property, legal terminology, timeframes for undertaking activities, etc. vary from state to state, so if you made out a will and have since relocated, it would be a good idea to seek some professional advice and update your will.

There were lots of other tidbits of info, some of which are probably specific to my state, but it's worth reminding everyone to re-visit your last will and testament to see if everything is up to date and clearly written to reflect your current situation.

[VBOpie]

Texsuze.
This was a timely post. This is definitely something my husband and I need to get done but keep putting off.

[WheresMyWhite]

3. Every state is different where wills and probate are concerned. Things like community property, legal terminology, timeframes for undertaking activities, etc. vary from state to state, so if you made out a will and have since relocated, it would be a good idea to seek some professional advice and update your will

This yes, I have done. Had an estate attorney draft my will and set up trust documents (which I now have in a fancy notebook easily accessible as the written will is more binding than electronic copies). When I relocated to a different state, had a local estate attorney review all the paperwork to make sure it worked in my new state.

Wills will help ensure that any remaining assets go to where you would like them to go and not, via probate, where the state says they must go. Do not rely on verbal expressions of your desires to be of any value after your death. If you want to provide for animals (pets, livestock) or donate to a charity, get that in the will

[Woost2]

I met with an attorney just last week. Learned some stuff.

[PaulaO]

My brother died without a will. No money either, except for his house. We hired a lawyer who was able to get the courts to declare us as his heirs and we were able to sell his house. Fortunately Illinois has a law that is one's "estate" is less than $150K, it doesn't have to go to probate. Steven's house sold for $148K. It was still a PITA so I urge everyone (including myself) to have a will.

[boots-aregard]

In California, probating a will is expensive. If one has any assets worth talking about, a trust is the way to go.

I don't know if there are a lot of states out there where this is the case. Probate is an attorney's bread and butter, so many attorneys won't answer that question clearly. The question to ask is, "How much does it cost the estate in fees and management, to go thru probate?" Then "How much to do a trust instead?"

[LeoApp]

In NY probate is cheap and quick. Even if you don't have a will, there is a succession defined, so you don't need a lawyer to declare you an an heir.
For instance, if you only have one parent left and there is no will, and then that parent dies, you and your siblings are the heirs.
Everything that has named beneficiaries goes straight to them, so those do not go through the will at all. Make sure your 401(K) etc has named beneficiaries.
Other accounts can be "transfer on death", so those also do not go through the will. You can set yourself up so that almost nothing goes through a will.
Even a house can be put in a trust or a right of survivorship. If your parents are aging, you can put their house in a trust but do it in enough time that it will not be used as an asset to be sold if they go into a nursing home. There is a 5 year look back period. (I only know about NY). Other states could be different.
I did a will several years ago. I added a trust fund for my horse. It definitely gave me peace of mind.
Actually to expand on doing a will, you should at the same time to a health care proxy and a durable power of attorney.

[Hayburner]

Thanks for the reminder that I need to update my will. Mine is at least 10 years old and many things have changed in my personal status.

I would prefer my family have no issues when it's all said and done. I'll also need to make provisions for my new horse. God knows, no one in my family would want her..LOL

I have to wonder how much money you would need to leave in a trust for the care of your horse and also make will provisions regarding any injury/euthanizing to said horse, etc. My old horse is still in my will to go back to his original owner with a specific amount put in trust for his care. He's now pushing 30 and I doubt she would want him as he has many health issues and is no longer rideable.

[WheresMyWhite]

My trust will pay out a certain amount per year for the care of my horse, not a fixed amount. While I completely trust the person who will care for my girl, this helps give me peace of mind that I'm not laying out a chunk of cash that may or may not be spent on horse care.

I went the trust route because, frankly, I have no interest in my sisters or their children getting what $$ I have left given the current state of the relationship (or lack thereof). A will and associated trust was the only way to make sure $ goes to my designated charities and not legal default heirs as would happen if I had no will.

These documents should be reviewed periodically. I've had mine maybe 8-9 years and already made one set of changes when I relocated. Thinking of another round of changes (minor) just to make sure everything is in order...

[kande50]

My old horse is still in my will to go back to his original owner with a specific amount put in trust for his care. He's now pushing 30 and I doubt she would want him as he has many health issues and is no longer rideable.

I'm relieved when my horses get into their mid-20's, because then I feel like they could be put down if my family couldn't, or didn't want to keep them. There's really no reason they couldn't be put down sooner, but for some reason mid-20's seems like the age when it becomes much more difficult to find a decent home for a horse, perhaps because the perception is that he may become less useful soon but could still live for another 10 or more years.

[Tarlo Farm]

Also look into a revocable trust. If you possess at least $20,000 worth of assets or more, a trust is the thing to have.

[Sunshine2Me]

Also look into a revocable trust. If you possess at least $20,000 worth of assets or more, a trust is the thing to have.

Be sure and look at the differences between revocable trusts and irrevocable trusts. IIRC, if you end up in a nursing home, a revocable trust counts as an asset, whereas an irrevocable trust does not, as long as it was set up 5 years or more before you entered the nursing home. My mother is in a nursing home and had a revocable trust, which counted as a asset.

[Tarlo Farm]

Oooooo, even better.

[WheresMyWhite]

My estate attorney recommended a revocable trust but now I don't remember why.

I am thinking I want to make some other changes to my will so may ask current estate attorney what his thoughts are (makes me feel slightly nauseous to think about changing it as the trust is the title name on my car and home and beneficiary on my investments...)

[LeoApp]

You have to look hard at trusts. They have both pros and cons and they are not for everyone. Of course you would be discussing this sort of thing with an estate attorney so don't ask me for specifics of the pros and cons because I don't remember!

[texsuze]

The attorney giving the seminar I mentioned did not recommend trusts. He said everything that needs to be addressed can be done in a well-constructed will. That was just his opinion. I think DH and I created a trust of some kind, back in the early 1990's, but our will has changed a few times since then. I need to find out if that trust still exists, or if our recent last will and testament supersedes it.

[WheresMyWhite]

Heaven knows this area is pretty far from my area of expertise... I have what is called a revocable living trust (I believe it is) so the trust doesn't really exist until my death. I have no children nor husband. I have no desire that my sisters nor their children be beneficiaries so the estate attorney recommended the revocable living trust. Any assets will go to designated charities.

At this point in my life, I'm even having a hard time finding someone to be an executor

[Tarlo Farm]

That can be the attorney, though then you pay for it. Or your estate does.

[gee]

In California, probating a will is expensive. If one has any assets worth talking about, a trust is the way to go.

I don't know if there are a lot of states out there where this is the case. Probate is an attorney's bread and butter, so many attorneys won't answer that question clearly. The question to ask is, "How much does it cost the estate in fees and management, to go thru probate?" Then "How much to do a trust instead?"

When my mother died in her sleep 7 years ago, she had no trust. She was bugging my brother to go with her to an attorney, he kept putting it off, so she died without a trust. Probate in California depends on your assets. Let me tell you, it would have been cheaper for my brother to get up off his behind and go with her. Probate cost us about $9000. Her main asset was her townhouse in Huntington Beach and some savings and an IRA. So, we could not sell her property until probate was over, took about 9 months. We did find an old will from 30 years ago when were packing up her house but by that time, the probate had started. I think that if you had X amount in assets in Calif, it will be probated unless there is a trust, even if there is a will. At that time I think it was 100,000K, that might have changed.