Ot post: wills

Sorry for the rant but my wife is nagging me about a will for
our daughter, or her or I, if we die together, who dies first ect.
I know nothing about a will, only who gets what when ur
gone. I have way more assets then she had, and i think my
brother, and business partner might want some of them, my
wife thinks everything should be sold and put into a trust for
the baby. I agree, but I still think I would like my brother to
have some of the things he could use, welder, tools?
Torches, trucks ect. Can anyone point me in the right
direction? I'm 37 and we have a 5 month old. The house and
land, barn is all in my name, as I pay the taxes and
Mortgage. Rest of the stuff is paid for, trucks, trailers,
equipment ect. Thanks

I think you would be much happier with a trust than a will. From what I ve be told that a will will most likely have to go thru probate there fore eating away the amount that will be divided. I put mine into a Family trust , the trust can t be contested like awill . If they don t want what you have passed on then they don t get anything.

I"ve had a Will since I was in Army Special Forces, mid 60s. Very obvious need then, even being single. It is the best thing you can do in your life, and death. Actually, you have a Will, but your State wrote it. If you want control over your assets, upon your death, you need a Will. Mrs and I made new ones after marriage and starting farming in the 70s. Big issue now is....size of your estate and estate tax laws. Now, if you have a couple hundred acres of land, with present estate laws, you have an inheritance tax issue that needs to be recognized and addressed. Fewer acres, other assets, same issue when it reaches the target level for tax impact.
A year ago, Congress passed a two-year extension of estate tax issue (Bush tax cuts). It will be revisited, or tax rate goes back to 55% of estate value. A year ago we created a family trust (actually 2- one for me and one for mrs). Delineates how everything passes to the surviving spouse, then the 6 kids, and their survivors, if that is the case. Also protects family interests from a surviving in-law. Cost about 2 grand but protects all interests, ELIMINATES probate- where ANYONE can put in a claim to the estate. Also includes my plan for bidding for all my hobby stuff, tools, equipment, etc. Look into establishing a TRUST. Revocable trust, you can change as things change. Irrevocable trust- it is set in stone. Really rich people put some in an irrevocable trust- leave it to charities, etc., and use a revocable trust to pass things to their family members. The good thing about this- you are thinking about it now, are concerned, and want options.

Okay, heres what to do CONSULT A LOCAL ATTORNEY WHO PRACTICES IN THE FIELDS OF WILLS, TRUST AND PROBATE NOTTTTTTTTT LAY OR EVEN PROFESSIONAL OPINIONS POSTED HERE.......If your know it all brother in law or Billy Bob are of the opinion you should do such and such wellllllll they, like persons here including myself, may be right???? if youre willing to take that risk, its your call.

"A living person has no heirs". If you die intestate, the laws of intestate succession for your state determine who inherits your "estate" assetts. Typical would be your spouse and your issue followed wayyyyyyyy down the line by siblings etc if none of the the favored herirs survive you.

If you wish them to pass to persons other then "heirs" (what the State says by its laws) then you need a Will.

If an assett passes outside of probate by operation of law that makes a will or intestate succession unnecessary. If say your real etsate is owned by the entirities, the survivor owns it upon your death NO PROBATE NECESSARY......

If you wish them to pass outside of probate, then they need to pass by operation of law, such as joint ownership with full rights of survivorship or that they pass per terms of a Trust.

I prepare Trusts, or Wills, or do neither and perhaps plan for assetts to pass by operation of law which is another method to avoid probate

SOOOOOOOOOO see to answer your question a trained competent professional is in my opinion the best to interview you and plan for whats best to suit your needs and that just cant be done here.

Best wishes and God Bless, this is the best advice I have to offer

John T Attorney at Law

Exactly!- everything you said! A trust can not be contested. Even anyone mentioned in a trust- if they contest it- they will be denied everything. A Will is probated, published in the local papers, and anyone CAN FILE A CLAIM AGAINST THE PROBATED WILL. Witness how many times do you see later announcements in local papers, after someone passes away, the estate filing quitclaim deeds against a complainant? Anyone can file a claim against an estate, and the estate usually settles with the filer to settle the claim, even if it is bogus. They settle with the complainant just to get them out of the way, so the estate can be settled.

Jay,

I would definitely see a good estate planner/lawyer for their input. Also would suggest that you look into separating your brother/your partnership as a business from your (family) estate as a trust or other. That way your brother's life is less impacted by your wife that may or may not have any ties to the farm/business. There can be lease purchase provisions established before your death that would protect/treat fairly both your brother and your wife and child should you die first.

Is it possible to agree with you, more than 100%??? If so, my answer is a resounding YES! Get the legal for where you live. This is nothing to mess with on your own. Major impact on lives.

Should I have a trust or will, also what is the difference with a trust, will or estate? Thanks J

I'm in the process of having our attorney set up a revocable trust with all of our major assets listed, with my wife and I as co-trustees and our daughter as remainderman.

That way, if demographics hold true and I shove off before my wife, our daughter will become co-trustee with my wife. Or the opposite, as my wife looks at family medical histories and insists she's going to die before I do, even though she's six years younger than I.

Besides the other benefits of a trust, if whoever is the surviving spouse between my wife and I becomes mentally unstable with advancing age, it would prevent them from doing anything rash with our assets without the cooperation and consent of our daughter.

It's a bit of protection a will doesn't provide.

Sit down with your attorney and get it written up local and legal for your state. I cant imagine not having a will, a trust, an estate and succession plan, and an LLC in your situation. Set the business up with your brother as an LLC, get stuff thats part of the business in the business and gets rid of that pesky unlimited liability for partners thing.

As to wills and trusts. Thats up to what and how you want it set up. All I can offer is what Ive done. As Im divorced and intend to stay that way, and have one biological heir and Im done procreating, with no partners in business I choose to not use and LLC and carry liability insurance out the wazoo. Other than that Ive got a will and a trust set up for my son. Trust is set up through the bank I use, with income from the trust going to pay my sons support at the level specified for child support by the Commonwealth until he has reached the age of majority. When and if he attends college or further education that level of support shall continue to him each month. At the age of 24 he gets 1/3 the value of the trust, another 1/3 at 27, and the balance at 30.

Don't take anyones on heres word for it. Go see an attorney that specializes in wills/trusts in your state. All states vary a little and this is nothing to make a mistake about. It'll be the best time and money you spend.

I know squat about wills. I hear, or understand that if you leave possessions, land, whatever to someone, making it theirs, that they get hit with a death or inheritence tax, which could kill them to have to come up with the money, or have to sell off the inheritence to have to pay the taxes. I have some cousins that have farm property left to them through "living trusts", which means that they don't own the properties, but are entrusted with them, to pass down to generation after generation after generations through death/inheritence tax free "living trusts". Not just land, but possessions, heirlooms, guns, etc.

I've been meaning to go see an attorney, but also here that it can be arranged and questioned on Legalzoom.com.

You know? If this was cavemen days, you could leave it all to your son, Konk, and your daughter, Gruntlanna, but it aint. Now we have lawyers and legislators, and it is what it is, and our job is to die and have the government toss our children out on their ears, after taxing them.

Good luck,

Mark

Excellent plan regarding age....takes care of the young"un getting the cash early, buying the Corvette, blowing the inheritance! Same setup on our trust.....Nice thing is that WE (better half and I of 42 years) can delineate all these plans, now, years before. Our feeling is...,our kids worked so hard to make this farm a success,....yes, via my ambitions...,but they, with the better half, made it work- THEY BOTH deserve the rewards of my personal ambitions. My satisfaction after 42 years is that my wife will have a nice retirement, and the kids will receive what they worked for.

Actually, even with no will, you effectively already have one: Your wife is entitled to all assets in in which you are joint tenants, typically your house and other real estate. Of everything else, she is entitled to half and your children get the other half.

Your biggest problem is that your wife is not a joint tenant in your property, which will cause problems if you die, since she's only entitled to half of it.

As for your tools, etc., it probably doesn't matter what YOU want, because you'll be dead and your wife will be free to do whatever she feels like doing. Most wills have a clause that say you may list "personal items" that you want to go to specific people, e.g. you might want your guns to go to your brother. Whether your tools qualify as "personal items" is subject to debate, and there's no guarantee that your executor (presumably your wife) will honor your request or simply throw it in trash.

I would be most concerned about anything you and your brother own together. You say he is your "business partner"; is this a formal partnership and do you own property together? Your brother isn't an heir as long as your wife or children survive, unless your will states so. Which means your wife and children will own your partnership interest after your death.

Like John T says, you need to consult with a reputable attorney.

You can pay a lawyer a little now, or your heirs / estate can pay a lot later. My mother died unexpectedly a few years ago. She had no will despite having a para-legal background, acted as a municipal judge, etc. It was a mess that took me two years and lawyers in three states to sort out. And I found that there were some business deals that I could not sort out. They appeared to be of no value, but she kept them active for a reason that I'll never know. Just enough property and assets that you couldn't walk away from it, but not enough to get excited about. If she would have had a will, it would have been pretty simple.
In short, there are potential implications that you probably don't have any idea that they're out there, and if there is no will, you can be pretty sure that the outcome won't be what you would have wanted.

DO a will. What others have said is true, your wife would still own everything etc etc. But what if, god forbid, something happened to the both of you.

You can play the what if game all day long with possible outcomes. The fact is, crazy things happen, and you'll often never see them coming.

Get it done now - not only for all the legal reasons - but just to avoid fighting and hard feelings with whoever survives you.

I've seen thse problems happen time and time again, and even experienced it myself.

Even with families and friends that have great relationships, things can get real tense when it comes time to try to evenly divide possessions up, or if somebody remembers a promise here or there that nobody else heard, etc. etc.

Do them all the favor of spelling it out for them.

Thers a HUGE difference in using a Trust versus a Will plus there are other ways to avoid probate but the plan you use is determined by your needs and wishes AND ALL THIS CAN NOT BE ANSWERED HERE. I do trusts and wills and other methods of estate planning butttttttttttt which can only be decided after as long complicated interview.

Consult a trained competent professional attorney NOT lay persons for something so complicated and critical is my best free professional legal advice. Something that takes volumes of law books and years of practice and experience simply can NOT be addressed here

Best wishes and God Bless

John T Attorney at Law in Indiana

Youre right, a subject that can fill an entire section in a law library and years of experience to become familiar with simply CAN NOT be addressed here and a plan shouldnt be used based on inexperienced lay advice and Billy Bob and the brother in laws advice BUT ITS HIS FREE CHOICE FOR SURE, HE ASSUMES THE RISK

John T

Find a good lawyer. I told my late mom years before she died to get my sister's name on that deed and also on her will so she would inherit the home my parents bought when they sold the farm. My brother was married 5 times and never owned any property even though he made good money. His No5 wife wanted that home and she even stopped by asking my mom to will the house to her. She was told politely to get lost. My mom died in 1994 and my sister got the home. My nephew inherited the home when my sister died 2008. It's going to cost you some money, but it will be well spent. My wife's name is on our deed. Vehicles are in both names too.

Here in MD if both names are on the title & if you're married you don't need to get the car state inspected if one dies. My late dad failed to put my mother's name on the title and we found that out when he died. Had to junk the car even though it ran ok. Her name was on the deed. Hal

John you are right. I had a Aunt and uncle who had a large estate(several million)Uncle died first.Aunt got every.They had no children. Uncle ha several brothers and sisters with many neices and nephews.Aunt had one sister with two neices and nephews. Aunt and uncle were smart and had conculted a good Auttorney. Every thing was sold at auction and changed to cash. Then cash was devided equally depending your realationship in familly. It was a wonderful fair arrangement. If there was something you wanted you were at the auction with the cash to buy it. No using your expected share to bid with. Everyone down to great neices and nephews received a inheritance that was theirs. The auction out of one house took three days. If there was something you wanted you had to be on the ball. I will say the antiuqe dealers were fair and if a member of the family was bidding they would back off and not run up the bidding. In stead of a big battle it was a great family event. Some of the great neices and nephew were able to pay off there college loan,some bought homes.it was done fair.gitrib

The estate of the decedent pays the inheritance tax, not the recipient.

You also need to specify in your's and your wife's wills who will care for your 5 month old baby if you should both pass at the same time. Otherwise your child will become an orphan of the state and who knows where they will go.

There are will kits out there but in your situation with the assets you own you will want the help of an attorney.

You may also want a power of attorney for health care in case you are incapacitated and cannot make decisions on your own.