The Last Will and Testament is perhaps the oldest and most traditional of estate planning instruments. In many ways it is the most straight forward and simple of alternatives. As opposed to trusts, its sole function is to provide the guidelines or rules for the transfer of wealth after the death of the testator or testatrix.
The details of the transfer and the variety of types of distributions can be endless. We will always discuss all of the options in light of the client’s unique family, financial, and other circumstances.
There are common distributions schemes notwithstanding the huge variety of situations. These include marital bequests, bequests to children in equal or unequal portions, credit shelter or other trusts for blended family situations, trusts for children and/or minors, bequests to individuals with disabilities, trusts for multiple generations, among many, many others.
Trust for children and/or grandchildren are very common and very important for a host of reasons. The advantages of a trust distribution versus an outright distribution are numerous. Assets transferred in trust, if drafted properly, will protect those inherited assets from the beneficiary’s creditors, a divorcing spouse, and possibly the child’s own spendthrift tendencies. This is opposed to an outright distribution which vests title in the beneficiary upon the parent’s death and renders the inheritance subject to all of these risks immediately.
The Will also names the individuals that will be responsible for executing the directions in the Will. The primary person is aptly named the “executor” who is responsible for probating the Will, settling debts, paying last expenses, and distributing the estate. As noted above, many times there will be trusts imbeded in the Will, sometimes called sub-trusts. These trusts need a separate fiduciary who is responsible for managing the trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries and this person is called the “trustee.” The Will also is the document for naming any guardians for minor children.
There are numerous optional provisions in Wills as well including special trust provisions for the care and feeding of pets, pecuniary bequests, charitable gifts, exercises of special powers of appointment in other documents, naming trust protectors and investment advisors, stating wishes regarding investment of funds, distributing tangible personal property, providing for the disposition of remains, among others.
Please contact the Law Offices of James Yastion, PLLC at (845) 255-4400 to schedule an initial consultation to discuss what is the best estate planning solution for you and your family.