Do you wish to leave specific gifts to individuals or charities? If so, are they provided for in your Will? If you wish to leave specific gifts in your Will, there are several things to keep in mind:
- If the gift is an item, who receives it if the individual is not living or the charity is not in existence? Also, what happens if you no longer own the item at your death? And finally, do you own the item or is it jointly titled (for instance, a car titled with your spouse)?
- If the gift is real property, consider the question for an item, but also determine, if there is a mortgage on the property, is the gift subject to the mortgage or must the Executor pay the mortgage off from the estate prior to making the gift?
- If the gift is a specific bank account or investment account, will the account pass subject to your Will? It will not if there is a joint owner or if there is a beneficiary named on the account.
There are other considerations that apply, for instance, specific gifts are made prior to the distribution of the residual estate. Will there be anything left to your estate after the specific gifts are made? If not, the beneficiaries named to receive the remaining estate (residual estate) will not receive anything. Is this your intent?
In some instance, where a specific gift is desired, it makes good sense to give a specific portion of the estate rather than a dollar amount. This type of gift prevents the entire estate from being distributed in specific gifts with no remainder going to the other beneficiaries.
If you wish to create an estate plan, talk to the experts at Grissom Law, LLC at 678-781-9230, and find out how we can help you.
Disclaimer This Blog/Web Site is made available for educational purposes only. In addition, it is available to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide legal advice. By using this blog site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and Grissom Law, LLC.