On Trusts, Wills, Etc.
Things to consider ...
One of my late classmate left NO will and the house was in only HIS name.
After 30 years of marriage, his widow had to sell the house and split the
funds equally between herself and his two UNfriendly sons from a former marriage.
This took a LOT of time, patience, and costs of probate, apprisals, and lawyers.
This is close to a worst case.
There ARE better ways to handle things --
Holding property as "Husband and Wife as Jount Tennants with Right of Survivorship"
will avoid some of these problems.
There is also "Tennants in Common" which has some advantages and DIS-advantages;
choose carefully.
Having a good "Will" can also eliminate some of the problems.
However, apprisals and probate are likely needed, costly, and lenghty.
These can be written by a lawyer or by anyone -- including the principal.
There are even computer programs that will write them for you.
Having a good "Trust" can eliminate more of the problems.
These are called "Living Trusts" or "Revocable Trusts" and can be ammended in part
or fully; they can even be revoked if you change your mind.
Done well, these can eliminate apprisals and probate; in some cases they can
even avoid inheritance taxes.
These are generally quite private, never made public, and have no Court supervision;
as such, they must appoint some person or institution to administer the Trust as needed.
Necessarily this should be someone who is TRUSTworthy - hence the name "Trust".
In case of large holdings, Trusts come in many flavors: simple, "A-B", "A-B-C";
choose carefully.
These can be written by a lawyer or by anyone -- including the principal.
There are even computer programs that will write them for you.
Likely best to have them done professionally.
All Trusts are COMPLETELY USELESS unless the property and accounts are held
in the name of the "Trust".
Any current holdings MUST be transferred into the name of the "Trust",
e.g., "The Smith Family Trust dated 1 April 2000".
These "Living Trusts" should NOT be confused with a "Living Will";
the latter is used to give instructions relative to medical care when a patient cannot
give proper authorization.
Also involved in these areas are instruments called "Power of Attorney"
and "Durable Power of Attorney"; they are good for some things,
but are limited and generally hampered by the death of the principal.
None of this is of any advantage to the principal, rather it only helps
the inheritors to get the property with a minimum of hassle and cost.
Seeking quality advice in these areas, understanding that advice, and
making the right choices can make things VERY smooth for the others.