Why a Residuary Clause in a Will is Necessary

13 Monday Nov 2017

Tags

Alternate Benficiaries, Beneficiary, Bequests, decedent, estate, Estate Plan, Intestate, probate, Probate Court, Residuary Clause, Residuary Estate, Will

The residuary clause in a will distributes property in the residuary estate. As explained in the article Why List Beneficiaries in Your Will?, the residuary estate consists of property remaining after distributing all bequests and paying estate obligations. Therefore, when property exists in the residuary estate, the residuary clause will name a beneficiary to receive the property. Finally, to have a truly sound estate plan, a residuary clause in the will is necessary.

Continue reading →

How Estate Size Will Influence Your Estate Plan

15 Friday Sep 2017

Posted by Robert Dowling in Planning Tips

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Abatement, Abatement Process, Asset Management, Beneficiary, Bequests, Debts, Earned Income After Death, estate, Estate Income Taxes, Estate Obligations, Estate Plan. Common Estate, Estate Planning, Estate Size, Estate Taxes, Expenses, Large Beneficiary Pool, Net Worth, Order of Payment, probate, Probate Avoidance Strategy, Probate Court, Retirement Accounts, Simplified Probate Process, Small Estate, Tax Planning, Tax Professional, Unintended Consequences, Well-Funded Estate, Will

To properly plan your estate, it’s important to understand how your estate size will influence your estate plan. As explained in the article The First Step to Estate Planning: Estimate Your Net Worth, your net worth will determine your estate size. By calculating your net worth, some important questions will come into focus regarding your estate plan:

Are there enough assets to cover your debts and other estate obligations?

If there are enough assets to cover the estate obligations, are the remaining assets enough to cover bequests?

Do I need to plan for estate taxes or estate income taxes?

Do I need to plan for abatement?

Obviously, these are just a few basic questions as life circumstances can make estate planning much more complicated. However, the answers to these questions will influence how you begin to properly plan for your estate.

Continue reading →

How to Avoid Abatement and Ademption

04 Monday Sep 2017

Posted by Robert Dowling in Planning Tips

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Abatement, Ademption, Ademption by Extinction, Beneficiaries, Bequests, Common Estates, Contest The Will, Estate Planning, General Bequests, Heirlooms, probate, Probate Avoidance Strategy, Probate Court, Residuary Beneficiaries, Specific Bequests, testator, Will

Typically, careful estate planning will avoid abatement and ademption. However, people with common estates know little about abatement and ademption and fail to plan properly. As a result, the probate court ends up deciding the distribution of bequests through abatement or ademption.

To avoid abatement and ademption, the testator must prepare a coherent estate plan and keep it updated. If the testator uses the process described in the article The First Step to Estate Planning: Estimate Your Net Worth, then avoiding abatement and ademption is possible.

Continue reading →

Determining Bequest Distributions Using the Doctrine of Ademption

28 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by Robert Dowling in Probate

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Ademption, Ademption by Extinction, Ademption by Satisfaction, Advancements, Beneficiaries, Beneficiary, Bequests, Doctrine of Ademption, General Bequest, Identity Theory, Intent Theory, probate, Probate Court, Specific Bequest, testator, Will

The doctrine of ademption applies to specific bequests no longer owned by the testator at death. In general, when bequeathed property is no longer part of the estate at death, the bequest fails. As a result, the intended beneficiary receives nothing and doesn’t retain any rights to the property.

In short, all states apply the doctrine of ademption in some form. Additionally, the following two forms of ademption make up the doctrine:

Ademption by extinction – This form of ademption applies when the bequeathed property is not part of the estate at the testator’s death.
Ademption by satisfaction – Concerns property given to a beneficiary during the life of the testator.

Although all states use the doctrine of ademption, not all states apply ademption the same way. The rest of this article will touch on the two forms of ademption.

Continue reading →

Paying Debts and Honoring Bequests through the Abatement Process

21 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by Robert Dowling in Probate

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Abatement, Abatement Process, Administration Expenses, Administration Plan, Attorney, Beneficiaries, Bequests, Claims, Common Executor, Creditors, decedent, Estate Assets, Estate Expenses, Estate Planner, Executor, Expenses, Funeral Expenses, Intestacy, Personal Property, Real Property, Will

When an executor realizes the estate lacks the assets to meet estate obligations, including bequests, an abatement process occurs. The abatement process allows for the proportional payment of obligations using limited assets that result in reducing or eliminating bequests to beneficiaries.

Initially, to determine the need for abatement, the executor will build an administration plan as described in the article The Administration Plan: A Necessity for the Executor. If the plan reveals that the estate lacks the assets to meet estate obligations, then abatement will result. Additionally, if the will excludes abatement instructions, estate law will handle the abatement process. This article will provide an overview of how estate law in Massachusetts handles abatement.

Continue reading →

Secured By miniOrange

The Common Executor

~ A Journey into Estate Administration

Tag Archives: Bequests

Why a Residuary Clause in a Will is Necessary

How Estate Size Will Influence Your Estate Plan

How to Avoid Abatement and Ademption

Determining Bequest Distributions Using the Doctrine of Ademption

Paying Debts and Honoring Bequests through the Abatement Process