Question on wills

[Happily Retired 2019]

I have a will from many years ago when my children were young. Assets were divided evenly upon our death. Since that time my daughter has passed away. If I do not update my will, does her husband or my grandchild automatically receive what my daughter was to inherit-or does everything automatically go to my son?

 

[Sunset]

I'm not a lawyer.

Depends upon the wording of your Will, you need to look at it to see what it says.

If you have the term per stirpes in properly it will give the daughters portion to her children (but not husband).

Here is a site that defines it and their example is like your situation:

Per Stirpes Definition in Estate Planning | Trust & Will

Per stirpes is a legal term that describes how your assets are divided and distributed. Read on to learn how you can use per stirpes in your Estate Plan.

trustandwill.com

 

[RunningBum]

I'm not a lawyer either. I think Sunset has it right.

But if there is no "per stirpes" designation in the will, I believe the the daughter's portion is distributed evenly to the other beneficiaries, not to her children or husband.

 

[OldShooter]

Why would you not update a will "from many years ago?"

 

[brett]

We have updated our respective will twice in the past 15 or so years. One was a complete re-write.

On both occasions we found that the advice and/or comments from friends etc., though well meaning, was either incorrect or was based on nuances/situations that simply did not apply to us.

In one jurisdiction the wills and estate legislation had been changed over the years. We subsequently moved to another jusidiction and found that the legislation was slightly different.

From our perspective the relative small cost of having our respective wills, POA's, etc updated professionally has been money well spent.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I agree with updating and/or rewriting it periodically is a good thing. I am age 62 and I've now had 3 wills. One in Texas many, many years ago and two in Pennsylvania where I currently live. When I went into my attorney to tell him I wanted to re-write my will very differently from my current one, he told me that he recommended doing this at least every 10 years just to make sure that the will is done with current legal standards and wording. He wasn't doing this as a sales pitch to me because I am the one who came in and told him I wanted a new will. I was removing multiple beneficiaries and provisions related to my parents. He had written my previous will. The one he created in 2022 was quite different in structure than the one he wrote in 2015, even for the basic boilerplate content.

It's not that the older document will considered invalid, but the recommended words included evolve over time in order to better protect the intentions of the will given changes in legal matters.

 

[MarieIG]

To answer OP, that depends upon the directives as set out in the will in conjunction with state law.

 

[Happily Retired 2019]

Why would you not update a will "from many years ago?"

Hey oldShooter: Even if I would have updated the will from years ago every 5 years, it always would have been written that my assets get evenly divided between my daughter and son, the same as my original will. My daughter's passing was sudden-this is why I asked that question because now that life has changed I must change my will. I do not see the need to change my will unless there are circumstances that warrant it.
Thanks for your imput

 

[OldShooter]

Hey oldShooter: Even if I would have updated the will from years ago every 5 years, it always would have been written that my assets get evenly divided between my daughter and son, the same as my original will. My daughter's passing was sudden-this is why I asked that question because now that life has changed I must change my will. I do not see the need to change my will unless there are circumstances that warrant it.
Thanks for your imput

As you like. Several of us upthread have found that estate plan periodic updates are required to reflect changed family circumstances and changed external circumstances aka legal requirements. In your case, you mention that the current plan was written when your children were young. Typically this involves guardianships and (possibly) trusts that become obsolete when the children reach the age of majority. Another thing is that the values of assets may have changed, affecting how distributions are made. If there is a house, does one of your beneficiaries want to live in it? In my mother's case I helped her write her will so that the valuation method for the family lake cabin was pre-established, eliminating the possibility of competing valuations and consequent fights among the heirs.

But, hey, it's your estate plan and you get to decide. Good luck.

 

[SecondCor521]

I have a will from many years ago when my children were young. Assets were divided evenly upon our death. Since that time my daughter has passed away. If I do not update my will, does her husband or my grandchild automatically receive what my daughter was to inherit-or does everything automatically go to my son?

I agree completely with MarieIG.

It totally depends on the language of your will:

1. "I divide my assets evenly between my children per stirpes."
2. "I divide my assets evenly between my children, unless my daughter predeceases me in which case her portion should be donated to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund."
3. "I divide my assets evenly between my children."
4. "I bequeath my assets to my husband first, but then to my children evenly if he predeceases me."

All of the above would have different results. And anyway, none of us (probably) are lawyers in your state of residence, and that is the only kind of person who can give you an accurate answer.

 

[Dash man]

Laws in states change quite often. It’s worth reviewing a will every few years with an estate attorney even if you don’t plan on any changes.
It’s also not a good idea to use a general attorney for estate planning. They often lack sufficient training and knowledge on the subject.

 

[Happily Retired 2019]

As you like. Several of us upthread have found that estate plan periodic updates are required to reflect changed family circumstances and changed external circumstances aka legal requirements. In your case, you mention that the current plan was written when your children were young. Typically this involves guardianships and (possibly) trusts that become obsolete when the children reach the age of majority. Another thing is that the values of assets may have changed, affecting how distributions are made. If there is a house, does one of your beneficiaries want to live in it? In my mother's case I helped her write her will so that the valuation method for the family lake cabin was pre-established, eliminating the possibility of competing valuations and consequent fights among the heirs.

But, hey, it's your estate plan and you get to decide. Good luck.

Thank you-I appreciate your advise. I have only 1 beneficiary left so everything will go to him.

 

[TickTock]

OP,

You may already know this - anything with beneficiaries / POD / TOD will override a will. So you probably want to go back and check that as well.

 

[pacergal]

OP--I would consult an estate lawyer. If you want your daughters children to receive an inheritance, I would imagine it needs to be specified, and if they are under age, who will be the trustee of their inheritance?
My condolences on the death of your daughter, however long ago that was.

 

[brett]

I am co-exutor with my sister on her recently deceased husband's estate.

The will was done in 1987. All is good, the paperwork is fine.

First thing my sister did a month or so after his death was to attend a lawyer to create a new will for herself along with POAs.

Why...firstly an update was in order. Secondly, and perhaps more important, the wills and estates legistlation where she resides had been updated. Secondly, her existing will would no longer satisfy her wishes. If not revidsed it could be now be constested. Hence a new will.

I cannot imagine depending on an old will or not taking the time time to review, renew, and change your will, your POA's, your medical directives in order to bring them up to scatch.

Such a small amount of effort and expense that could saved the loved ones that you leave behind a great deal of red tape. Not to mention any emotional angst in dealing with incomplete, out of date, or changes in legislation. An act of kindness to those we leave behind.

 

[marko]

Hitting [Ctrl+Alt+26] for my pre-written reply:
"Talk to an estate lawyer. Money well spent."

In my personal case, we leave equal amounts to 9 nieces and nephews. Should one or more not survive, the amount is then divided equally by the living ones.

Now, this was written when they were all children. They are now adults with children of their own and we do need to change the wording so that their children would inherit. No immediate need as they are all healthy, but it is on our to-do list.

 

[OldShooter]

I am co-exutor with my sister on her recently deceased husband's estate.

The will was done in 1987. All is good, the paperwork is fine.

First thing my sister did a month or so after his death was to attend a lawyer to create a new will for herself along with POAs.

Why...firstly an update was in order. Secondly, and perhaps more important, the wills and estates legistlation where she resides had been updated. Secondly, her existing will would no longer satisfy her wishes. If not revidsed it could be now be constested. Hence a new will.

I cannot imagine depending on an old will or not taking the time time to review, renew, and change your will, your POA's, your medical directives in order to bring them up to scatch.

Such a small amount of effort and expense that could saved the loved ones that you leave behind a great deal of red tape. Not to mention any emotional angst in dealing with incomplete, out of date, or changes in legislation. An act of kindness to those we leave behind.

 

[OldShooter]

Smart sister.

 

[FlyingCircus]

Here's what I learned when we just updated our "estate plan" for the first time in 30 years - now that our only child is off and running.
- the objective is to avoid probate and be excruciatingly clear about medical directives/wishes.
- beneficiaries on your *retirement* financial accounts (401Ks, Roths, IRAs, BDAs - anything non-taxable brokerage - override (actually are independent of) the Will.
- non-retirement accounts: we created a revocable trust. We then re-titled the house (mostly paid off), the taxable brokerage account, the paid-off car and the bank accounts to put them "in" the trust. The trust doc specifies primary and contingent beneficiaries
- we were advised to create both HC POA and medical directives documents with no-questions asked statements about treatment and who had authority when incapacitated.
- the Will just becomes a shell, a "pour-over" will with not much consequential in it (at least for us, we don't have worthy collectibles/other assets/a business).

 

[frank05]

My experience with my parents will is after my father died, I went to the local town to get the house deed changed just my mother’s name. They focused on the lawyer and witnesses signatures. The lawyer had died and we had no idea who the witnesses were. They assured us that leaving both names on the deed would be no problem but I got a new will created.