| Beneficiaries -- Types of Professional Advisers |
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| Receiving an inheritance calls for two basic activities that should be discussed and handled with an attorney: reviewing the estate closing to insure that the decedent's wishes were carried out and preparing a beneficiary's own will or living trust so that his new assets will be protected. If a beneficiary already uses an attorney for general personal and business advice, he should find out if she is familiar with estate planning. If not, the attorney should be asked for a reference.More... |
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| Trust Apportionment |
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| When a trustee receives a distribution, it can be difficult to determine whether he should pay it to the beneficiary or add it to the "corpus" (the trust property). More... |
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| Lapse, Ademption, & Abatement |
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| At common law, if a beneficiary should die between the execution of the will and the death of the testator, the bequest to that beneficiary lapses - that is, the gift becomes void - and the bequeathed property is distributed according to the will's residuary "catchall" clause. If the will contained no residuary clause specifying disposition of the rest, residue, and remainder, of the estate and named no contingent beneficiary, the property is distributed according to the state's intestacy law.More... |
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| Revocable Living Trust |
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| In many jurisdictions, trusts cannot be revoked unless the trustor expressly retains the right to revoke. Revocable living trusts allow a trustor to manage his assets, to plan for his incapacity, and to avoid probate. More... |
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| Executors -- Informal Transfer Procedures |
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| If the decedent died intestate (without a will), you have absolute freedom to select an attorney to help administer the estate. If the decedent died testate {with a valid will), you typically have the same flexibility, even if the testator specifically mentioned in the will that she wanted you to employ a particular attorney; this, under the law of most states, usually is considered merely a suggestion and is not binding. Since the attorney is an essential part of the estate administrative team, many executors prefer to have an individual with whom they can work effectively. Whether the attorney is the one selected by the decedent or one selected by you, his services are vital to the successful handling of many estates.More... |
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