Exam 48: Wills and Trusts

An advance health directive that allows a person to control what medical treatment he or she may receive after a serious accident or illness is

The costs of long-term improvements to the assets of a trust and the proceeds from a sale of the assets are allocated to the principal's beneficiary.

Rollo opens an account for $250,000 at Savers Bank. The account provides that the funds are held in trust for Thea, Rollo's daughter. This is

The laws governing how property is transferred on the death of its owner are a corollary to the concept of the private ownership of property.

Sally handwrites her will on a sheet of blank paper. This will is

An owner can transfer property outside the probate process by making gifts of property while the owner is still living.

The formalities of a will are intended to ensure that the testator understood his or her actions at the time a will was made and to help prevent fraud.

Health-care powers of attorney have grown in importance as medical technology has enabled physicians and hospitals to keep people alive for ever-increasing periods of time.

Jason does not execute a will before he dies. With respect his estate, the assets are distributed first to

Carl dies without a will, survived by his granddaughter Doral and her brother Elton. The grandchildren are Carl's

Because a general bequest or devise does not single out any particular item of property to be transferred by will, a testator does not have to know the nature and extent of his or her property to create a valid will.

A trust must be express because the essential elements of a trust include a writing.

A testator must be able to remember the persons who would naturally be heirs to the estate, as the testator is required to give the estate to the natural heirs.

A will must comply with statutory formalities to ensure that the testator understood his or her actions at the making of the will. These formalities are intended to

If a will does not provide how an estate will be distributed to grandchildren, under the per capita method of distribution, an heir takes the share that his or her deceased parent would have been entitled to inherit.

If a will does not provide how an estate will be distributed to grandchildren, under the per stirpes method of distribution, all heirs in a certain class inherit equally.

Nadia does not execute a will before she dies. The distribution of her estate is regulated by

Leif executes a will in which he leaves everything to his spouse, Marta, and in which he appoints Nora to administer the estate. The will must be signed by

Diego executes a will that clearly states his brother Enrique is to receive none of Diego's estate, which is to be distributed entirely to Diego's friend Frieda. At the time of Diego's death, Frieda has died, leaving no heirs, and Diego's only surviving natural heir is Enrique. Most likely, the estate will be distributed to

Kit has two children, Lea and Merl, both of whom predecease Kit. Lea is survived by her son Nat. Merl is survived by her daughters Opal and Pearl. On Kit's death, if the distribution of the estate is per capita, Pearl will receive