Where there's a will ...

Tuesday, Sep 25 in Wills and estates | Comments (13)

Question: Ron's mom owns a piece of commercial property worth $300,000 and a townhouse worth $200,000, all paid for. The deal he has worked with his sister gives him the property and gives her the townhouse, but he doesn't trust her. Dave thinks a last will and testament is in order, and VERY soon.

Dave Ramsey's advice: Have her get a will IMMEDIATELY! It matters a lot to have a will. If your sister wants to contest this agreement in court when there's a will, then go ahead and fight. If you don't trust your sister, then this is a disaster waiting for a place to happen. Your mom should get a will now; not so you can get what you want, but so she can get what she wants. A will ensures that her wishes are carried out, even if she thinks that your sister wouldn't try anything bad. Do that THIS WEEK!

What does Dave say?

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Dave,
What are your thought on Revocable Trusts, etc. as a way to protect an estate against probate, heavy death taxes to beneficiaries? Also at what asset level do you recommend a trust or other plan? What if you will have a home, life insurance "death" payment etc. 401K, IRA's, BUT NO major real estate or other holdings?

# Posted by Mark Richardson | 11/16/07 3:40 PM

i know we need a will,not that we have alot of
assets but we have 2 children. Question is who
do we leave them to if my wife and I both die??
seems everyone considered has positives and
negitives. how do you decide?

# Posted by aaron | 11/25/07 10:52 AM

My husband and I have had a disagreement about if the our our last will and testament. We have been married for about 6 years. Neithier of us had "much" much much to start with. I have two girls 18 and 14 from a previous marriage (18 and 14), and right now we ar are doing very well, have some assets, several businesses and my husband thinks that if we were to died at the same time (God forbid), that my girls could have my half of our assets, but his half he wants to go to his mother and sister. I just have a hard time agreeeing to that... someone please tell me this is the way it should be, help me to understand... Thanks. Desperate! We really need a Will, and I can't get past this for some reason.

# Posted by Jennifer | 1/8/08 9:57 AM

Jennifer,
It seems to me that you and your husband need to come to terms on what the will is FOR. Basically, I think a will is for people to support people who NEED support. If you are currently paying for some part of his mother and sister's basic needs, fine; otherwise, they don't qualify for that yet. Parents must ensure their children have the resources to get a good start in their adult lives even if the parents die before the kids get there. (To me, that happens around age 26 or so, when most people have finished 4-6 years of post-high school education and have gotten settled into a solid job. Those who don't go to college or the military still need that kind of help into their mid-20s because they have to work up from entry-level wages that would hardly sustain them. Just my view, worth the paper it's written on!)

You might set up the will to have two options. Option 1 is in force until your children reach a designated age that you both agree on. Option 1 ensures that your estate fully supports your children as if neither of you had died. Include statements setting aside a few items that have special meaning (say, your husband wants his grandma's piano to go immediately to his sister whenever he dies). Then, Option 2 says "If the children are past X, then we want the estate distributed as follows..." and if he wants his mother and sister to get half, so be it. You should both be aware: if either of them is in a nursing home type of situation, it could be very messy for them to get significant assets after their own resources have been drained in our crazy system. Get with someone with lots of knowledge in both estate planning and the long-term care system, so that if you do die early, your will creates blessings for his mother and sister, rather than problems.

# Posted by Monica | 1/23/08 4:57 PM

I have a will, got it notarized....What do I do with it now so that if/when my spouse and I die, our last wish it granted. Do we just give copies of it to the person we put at the executor and the trustee?

# Posted by Jason Heinen | 2/6/08 9:06 AM

Do you have it witnessed by two witnesses and a self proving affidavit attached? This will make it much easier to probate. Keep the originals in a safe place and make sure that the executors know where it is.

# Posted by Jennifer Goss | 2/7/08 2:37 PM

I have almost completed the wills for my husband & I, but I am also having a problem deciding who to leave my children to. Also, who to leave incharge of their trust. My question is if I only have life insurance, & home, and vehicles, do I just instruct that a trust be setup & fund for them upon our death? Or should I being doing something now.

# Posted by Rachel Davis | 3/5/08 4:16 PM

When is it better to have a trust instead of
just a will like you advertise from
uslegalforms.com?

# Posted by Velma | 3/15/08 6:27 PM

My husband passed away leaving a will (all is left to me). Everything we own is paid for except our house. Is it necessary to go through probate?

# Posted by Leslie | 3/15/08 7:14 PM

Dave,

I do not have alot of assets or liabilities but I want something in writing for what I do have in case something happens to me. Where should I go to get a will oniline?

# Posted by Ryan | 3/17/08 4:41 PM

I just read a good book called "Beyond the Grave", how to leave money to your children. It is written by a West Coast lawyer named Gerry
Condon. You can get it from Amazon for $16. He covers almost all these questions, based on many years experience. There are many, many
wrong ways to leave money to children, or anyone else for that matter. I highly recommend this book. You will find that a visit to a
good estate planning lawyer is something you'll need at some point in the future. It will be worth the money (to your kids, anyway).
To Jennifer...your husband is making it clear they are YOUR kids, not his. He can't be faulted for wanting to leave his part to his immediate
family, but I'm sure it still hurts. You definitely need to set things up right to protect your kids. It seems to me from reading the book
that the simplest way is to create a Family Living Trust and put all the assets you want your kids to have into that trust, naming them as
beneficiaries and appointing a bank's trust dept to oversee it for them if they are still minors when you die.
I intend to do this with my family, even though we don't have all that much. The trust avoids probate and contestability and assures your
kids' needs are taken care of.
Just my 2 cents worth (I am NOT a lawyer).
Peace

# Posted by Mike Henderson | 3/18/08 1:38 PM

My father is 81. I have 2 sisters. One has lost her home in a short sale and moved in with Dad. She borrowed from him until he had nothing left in order for her to pay for a house she could not afford. Now with her and her husband and two teenage kids living with him, one of whom is pregnant and her boyfriend often stays as well, she states that she has no intention of moving, that she wants to buy myself and my other sister out when Dad passes at two-thirds value less 'improvements' she has made. She has Power of Attorney. We are all three listed as Co-Executors of his Living Will. My other sister is in a panic over this and wants me to have Power of Attorney. I am fine with that, I just don't want to cause a feud, but at the same time, I am concerned that she will screw us and feud now or later really makes no difference except that it will prevent financial problems in the short term. A am expecially concerned that she will convince him to get loans, and or use the Power of Attorney to act on my fathers part and cause a financial ruin for him. What are your thoughts?

# Posted by Martie | 3/21/08 2:20 PM

My mom passed away last month and she did have a will. I just found out that one of my sisters, the greedy one, talked mom into changing her will a few years ago right after our dad died. There are 4 of use and this sister is named as inheriting the majority of our parent’s assets of over $2,000,000. The previous will had all assets divided equal among the 4 of us as mom and dad had wished from the start. I know biblically what will happen to this sister.

Should I do anything about it in the mean time as I feel this was done in mom’s time of duress?

# Posted by David | 4/18/08 6:23 PM

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