Even If I Have a Will, Should I Still Consider a Living Trust?
Video Summary
Even if I have a will, should I consider a Living Trust? Well, let’s talk about what a Will controls and what a trust controls, and then we’ll try and then you’d need to decide whether or not you would want to do a will and a trust or whether you’re satisfied with just the Will control whatever assets are titled just in your name alone at the time of your death. A Will will not control any assets such as joint bank accounts or bank accounts, have a beneficiary. The same can be said for a brokerage account. You can set those up so that there is what they call a TOD or transfer on death. Also, it doesn’t control life insurance, IRAs, or any other annuities or any other document that has a designated beneficiary. All of that is controlled by contract or the signature card. Now, a trust only controls those assets that are titled in the name of the trustee. Whenever you pass away, you usually are the trustee of your revocable trust, and then you’ve designated a successor trustee. And so that will only control those assets that are titled in your name as trustee under your trust. And of course, that designates who you wish to receive those assets. So whether or not you need a trust or not, or you need just use a will or whether you can title your assets so they pass automatically by designating beneficiaries. That’s all a product or a result of doing estate planning. That’s why they call it estate planning is so that you can discuss that with the attorney as to whether or not you need a will join assets or a trust or all three. So if you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
If I Leave Someone Money in My Will Can It Be Paid From a Joint Account?
Video Summary
If I leave someone money in my Will, can it be paid from a joint account? The answer is no. It cannot be paid from a joint account. A joint account has a signature card which says who owns the account upon whenever someone passes away the Florida law is the joint accounts will automatically go to the co-owner of the account or both parties on the account. So know that you can only request that and your will that someone pay that money out of a joint account, but that’s not legally binding and know the executor has no control over a joint account. An executor, in order to pay out devices can only pay those from assets or title in the decedent’s name alone. They’re in a probate proceeding. If there are no assets in a probate proceeding and they’re all jointly held, there is no probate, there’s no executor and all the assets passed without probate to whoever the join owner is or the designated beneficiary of the various accounts. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
Can I Help Control My Children From Spending Their Entire Inheritance at 18?
Video Summary:
Can I help control my children from spending their inheritance at age 18? If you are preparing estate planning documents or a Will or a Trust, that’s how you control your children being able to spend their inheritance. You can say that you leave your estate to a trustee and direct the trustee to hold the money for your children until they reach a certain age and use the money until they reach that age for their health, education and maintenance. After a certain age, you can direct it all, or a portion of it is then distributed to the child. I usually use a formula of you give ’em a third at age 25. The half of what’s left at age 30 and the balance is age 35. That’s based upon my recollection of me growing up and me being smarter at age 21 or 18, than I’ve ever been in my life, that I had all my answers to all the questions, and I knew everything and probably wouldn’t make wise decisions with the money. So the way you do that is by giving the property left to a trustee. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Videos, Wills
What Is a Holographic Will?
Video Summary
What is a holographic Will? A holographic Will is whenever someone writes it out in their own handwriting, as we say cursive. I guess if they printed it, it would be the same thing. Florida Will recognize a holographic Will provided. It has the same as executed in the presence of two witnesses, which were present whenever the testator signed it and the testator was in their presence. There are some states where they make an exception for holographic Wills and accept them in the probate even if they’re not executed with the same formality as what is required by the state law. But Florida is not one of those states and for the Will to be effective here in Florida as a valid Will, it must be signed in the presence of two witnesses and the testator. So that’s a holographic Will. I suggest you spend a little bit of money with the attorney, but if not, we’ll be sure it’s signed in the presence of two witnesses. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
How Is a Will Executed?
Video Summary
How is a Will executed in order for a Will to be valid in the state of Florida? The Will must be signed in the presence of two witnesses. So not only does the person making the Will called the test state have to sign the Will, the witnesses also have to sign in each other’s presence as well as the person making the Will. So that’s how a will has to be executed or signed in Florida in order to be valid. First off, there is a provision which we now use whenever you pass away the Will in order to be admitted to probate has to be proved and that’s where one of the witnesses appears before the clerk of the court and testifies or signs an oath that the Will was signed, the presence of the other witness and the test stater, all three of ’em signed at the same time. Usually when you deal with an attorney, usually they have what they call a self-proving Will, in other words, the affidavit that proves the Will is attached at the sign at time it’s signed. So it avoids the problem of having to have it prove whenever the person making the Will dies. And so if you have any questions about a Will, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.