The Shortest Will: It May Hold the Record, But It Won’t Hold Water
December 12, 2009
Have you ever wondered just how little you could get away with in your last will and testament? Aletta Stager of Brooklyn, NY holds the distinction of having executed one of the shortest wills on record—a mere 2 lines long!
“Nov. 29, 1895. I give to my cousin, Nettie M. Cowan, all money that I have in the Bowery Savings Bank.
Aletta Stager, 131 Berkeley Place, Brooklyn, N.Y.”
Of course, things have changed in the probate and estate planning world in the one hundred plus years since Ms. Stager executed her will. A glaring omission from the two lines above is the nomination of an executor. If you don’t nominate an executor in your will the court may choose one for you. Also, even if you have only one person in mind as your beneficiary, you’ll want to include secondary beneficiaries, who can include charities and non-profits if you don’t have any family or friends to whom you’d like to leave your estate.
Even back in 1895 Aletta Stager’s property ended up going to the state of New York when no heirs—including the named beneficiary—could be found. Perhaps if Ms. Stager had included a couple more lines in her will her estate could have gone to benefit her favorite charity instead of being swallowed up by the state.
What To Do When Your Kids Don’t Like Your Will
October 4, 2009
In an ideal world elderly parents and their adult children always get along, and when those parents pass away their children quietly and respectfully follow their wishes regarding the distribution of their estate. Unfortunately, we don’t always live in an ideal world, and inheritance and estate planning can often cause tension between parents and children before the parents have even reached retirement age!
What are your options when you know your kids won’t like what you’ve put in your will or trust? Many people choose to simply keep their wishes secreted away in a safety deposit box until they’ve passed away and then let everyone fight it out on their own; but this only puts off the bad feelings and can often cause lasting rifts among siblings. This strategy of secrecy also doesn’t address what happens if you become incapacitated and need one of your trustees or agents (in all likelihood one of your children) to take over your affairs.
A better option than secrecy may be to invite your children to your final meeting with your estate planning attorney. If the attorney is willing, and if you have good relationships with your children, this may be a good move. It could give you an opportunity to share your plans in the presence of a knowledgeable professional who is on your side; it also gives your children the opportunity to ask questions and get clear and immediate answers. More often than not tension about mom and dad’s estate plan stems from a lack of understanding, or a worry that mom or dad have been taken advantage of.
Such a meeting might be especially valuable where you have remarried and plan to provide for your new partner in your plan, before providing for children, either yours or your new spouse’s. A meeting might help explain your wishes. Ask your attorney for his or her view on this when you discuss your plan. While a family meeting is not for every familiy, still for many it can be reassuring, educational, and put everyone one the same page while moving into the future.
What is REALLY Behind a Contested Will?
August 14, 2009
Tolstoy said that “happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” but sometimes even the most stable and happy of families can turn angry and litigious when death and property are involved. It never ceases to be surprising how many seemingly strong family relationships devolve into backbiting and grudge-holding when a loved one dies and the Last Will and Testament does not live up to expectations.
When a will, or a Trust, is contested by an angry beneficiary (or someone who thought they should have been a beneficiary), the core motivation is often more about emotion than finances. Unfortunately, however, a will contest (if the contest is deemed valid)—and the ensuing litigation process—will delay probate considerably and make it significantly more expensive.
For this reason, if you are named as the executor of a will, it is important to know what the legitimate grounds for will contests are, and to have a trusted attorney to whom you can turn if and when surprises occur. Serving as executor of a will can be stressful enough when everything goes as planned; dealing with the unexpected—especially when those surprises come from hurt or angry relatives—can take over every part of your life and have a lasting effect on family dynamics. A trust may also be contested, on most of the same grounds.
We hope you will never have to deal with a will contest in your family; but if you do, we hope you will let our firm help you make the process as fair and as painless as possible.
Michael Jackson’s Will Answers Few Questions
July 7, 2009
The past week has been filled with media speculation about Michael Jackson and his will: Did he have one and what might be in it? Well the waiting is finally over… kind of. It turns out Michael Jackson did create a will, which was submitted to the California probate courts earlier this week. The will (which can be viewed here) is five pages long, and because it pours “my entire estate” into the Michael Jackson Family Trust, the will itself reveals very little about the specifics Jackson’s estate or his instructions regarding the administration of it.
A will, although it can remain private during your lifetime, becomes a matter of public record once it is submitted to the probate courts after your death. But a trust is a private document, and in most cases remains private even after your death.
Jackson’s will does reveal a few details, though, namely who he chose as guardian for his children. In paragraph 8 of his will, on page 4, just above his signature, Jackson states:
“If any of my children are minors at the time of my death, I nominate my mother, KATHERINE JACKSON as guardian of the persons and estates of such minor children. If KATHERINE JACKSON fails to survive me, or is unable or unwilling to act as guardian, I nominate DIANA ROSS as guardian of the persons and estates of such minor children.”
Whether Jackson’s wishes for guardianship will be followed remains to be seen. As Jackson’s ex-wife and mother of his two oldest children, Deborah Rowe would normally automatically be awarded custody. However, there are still too many unanswered questions about the status of Rowe’s parental rights—and her desire to assert those rights—to make any claims for certain.
The one thing that is certain, however, is that whatever odd and inexplicable things Jackson may have done during his life, he seems to have done what he should to provide for his family’s financial needs and their privacy after his death.
Have you done the same?
You Ought To Be In Pictures: When and How To Create A Video Will
May 28, 2009
The process of creating a last will and testament hasn’t changed much over the centuries, and the requirements are few: Paper, pen, witnesses, and a testator who is of sound mind. This endurance and simplicity is one of the hallmarks of estate planning—and yet there are plenty of ways to incorporate technology into our practices and use it to our clients’ advantage. One way to do this is with the use of video wills.
A video will is created when the testator reads his or her will in front of a video camera, and occasionally explains why certain gifts were granted and why some were not. It may include some discussion back and forth between the drafting attorney and the client, in regard to selected provisions of the Will, some detail in regard to family members mentioned or omitted, and perhaps some general colloquy to show that the person making the Will was of sound mind. The benefit of creating a video will is that it can be used to establish the mental competence of the testator. As such, a video will can be especially helpful to elderly clients whose heirs might be inclined to contest the will on the grounds that the testator was not of sound mind, or was making the Will subject to the undue influence of others.
Although a video will can be a helpful addition to your estate plan, it can in no way replace an official paper copy, signed in the presence of witnesses. A physical writing of your will—drafted by a knowledgeable attorney and with your official signature made in the presence of the required witnesses—is the only valid legal evidence of your wishes for the distribution of your property. A video will by itself will not hold up in probate court.
Technology brings great improvements to our lives, but adaptation takes time. Talk to your attorney first if you are considering incorporating a video will into your estate plan. Although it can be helpful, a video will is not always necessary, and could in some cases be detrimental if not done correctly. You should only film under the advice and supervision of your trusted attorney.
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