Beware of Strawman Beneficiaries of Your Estate Plan

Everyone has that one relative who loves to give holiday gifts, but every time you receive a gift from her, you realize how little she knows you, how little attention she has paid to anything you have ever said in her presence. Perhaps it is an elderly aunt or a step-grandmother. She gives you cooking utensils such as egg poaching pans when you are a raw foods vegan. The clothes she chooses for you indicate that she has never looked at you. It is easy enough to graciously accept a poorly thought-out holiday gift of modest monetary value. Perhaps you can even line up the gifts you have received over the years, show them to a friend who truly understands your values and tastes, and have a good laugh. It is less easy to take it in stride when a family member has died and left an estate that imposes a financial burden on you. Perhaps the decedent put you in a supervisory role you cannot handle, such as personal representative of the estate or trustee of the testamentary trust. You might have inherited a house in a remote location, one that it is a hassle to maintain or even to visit, when you are in no shape to be an absentee landlord. To avoid causing these problems for your heirs, contact a Bronx estate planning lawyer.

The Provisions of Your Will Related to Your Children Should Be Specific to the Children’s Age

One of the most incorrect assumptions you can make is that you are too young to write a will. If your children are minors, whether you are 30 or 60, you need a will even more than people without children or people whose children have already reached adulthood do. Minors cannot inherit property directly, so your will should designate someone as the guardian of the minors’ property. This person may or may not be the same person as the family member with whom your children would live if you and your children’s other parent both died when the children were minors. If you do this, you will automatically have an incentive to rewrite your will when your children grow up, and you might find other provisions that you want to change, too.

Should You Leave Property to Your Children Equally or Equitably?

Many parents agonize over the decision of whether to leave each of their children an equal share of the estate or to divide the estate equally according to each child’s need. The fairest thing is to divide the estate equally, so that none of your children spend the rest of their lives thinking that you were playing favorites. If one child needs more financial help than the others, the best solution is to give him or her money while you are alive. You cannot control whether your children will share their inheritance with their siblings; once the estate has settled, the money belongs to the heirs, and it is not possible to micromanage from beyond the grave.

Schedule a Confidential Consultation With a Bronx Estate Planning Attorney

A probate lawyer can help you build an estate plan that ensures financial stability for your children at any age.  Contact Cavallo & Cavallo in the Bronx, New York to set up a consultation.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0732/Sections/0732.201.html