Limitations of a Last Will and Testament in California
Limitations of a Last Will and Testament in California
A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.
- Forest E. Witcraft
Last Wills are a wonderful way of addressing the needs of loved ones in estate planning but not everything can be carried out by your Last Will.
What a will won't do includes the following:
Bequeath Certain Kinds of Assets or Property. You cannot use your will to leave:
• Property that is in the Living Trust
• Life insurance policy proceeds that has a beneficiary in it
• Money in the retirement plan that has beneficiary indicated in its forms.
• Stocks or bonds held in beneficiary and has transfer-on-death or TOD form. If you want to change the beneficiary, contact the brokerage company
• Money in a payable-on-death bank account.
• Joint tenancy. Leaving a property that is not entirely yours but is co-owned with someone else automatically transfers the entire property to the surviving co-owner. Your share that was indicated in your will can only go to it beneficiary if the all owners of the property dies simultaneously.
Direct Funeral Arrangements
It would be wise to make separate documents regarding your wishes and inform your executor its location when needed. It sometimes takes days or weeks for a will to surface after death and memorial services or wishes indicated may not be executed.
Reduce Estate Tax
Having a will won't help evade taxes. If you are expecting your estate to owe federal taxes, start taking steps to decrease your tax liability. In terms of tax bills, there are many trusts that can reduce or for postpone it.
Avoid Probate
Establishing the validity of a will can take months or years of being tied up in a probate court before final contribution of the property commences.
Apply Certain Conditions on Gifts
A gift that is awarded via a will should not contain condition attached like a contingent on marriage, divorce or change of religion of the receiver. You can only include lesser influences like leaving money for a certain person when he goes to college. Making conditional gifts can sometimes open a can of worms because questions will arise as to who will enforce the wills' condition and for how long.
Leave Money for Illegal Purpose
This is a rare situation, but you cannot allocate money for use on something illegal.
Arrange to Care for a Special Need Beneficiary
Long term care for someone with special needs will be better off in a trust that is tailored to the persons' needs. It will not jeopardize government benefits as well as it can provide extra income for the person and its family that can be use in his care.
Leave Money to Pets
Pets should be left to new owners who will take care of them. Leave the money to them to help with your pets' related expenses. Pets cannot own property so leaving property directly to them is not a good idea. Trust are allow in some other states but won't be necessary if you have confidence in the person whom you left your pet(s) with after you pass away.