Exam 31: Wills, Trusts, and Advanced Directives

In most states, a child who can prove that she was mistakenly (rather than intentionally) left out of her parent's will receive the same share that she would have received had her parents died without a will.

A trust that is created by a will is called a(n):

Teresa is concerned that her children will waste their inheritance and owe many creditors who will take any unspent inheritance. Discuss how Teresa may allow the children to inherit and yet prevent her fears from becoming reality.

Darius wrote a will leaving his property in equal shares "to all my friends" which he dated and signed. Is the will valid?

Carl has his lawyer prepare his will. Wanting to make a few minor changes, Carl places some handwritten words in the margins, initials them, and scratches out words in the typed text. Carl's changes:

Brad and Sally, a married couple, died at the same time in a tornado in a state that has adopted the Uniform Simultaneous Death Act. Brad's will left his property to Sally and then to his children if she were to die before him. Sally's will left her property to Brad and then to charity. Discuss the distribution of their property.

The issue of soundness of mind is raised only when someone contests a will on that ground.

Fritz is having his will prepared and also wants to prepare other advance directives. Discuss the typical advance directives and why they are prepared.

Mack, the father of two children, dies intestate. Under a typical statute, the rights of his wife would include entitlement to:

Santos created an irrevocable living trust for her stepdaughter. In her later years, she became angry with her stepdaughter and sought to rescind the trust. Will she be able to do so? Explain.

A living will typically authorizes an agent to make medical treatment decisions for another.

Frisco and his wife, Esperanza, were killed simultaneously in an auto accident. Frisco had life insurance naming Esperanza as the beneficiary. Frisco's will left all his property to a charity, and Esperanza's will left all of her property to her mother, Verdad. Who is entitled to the insurance proceeds under the Uniform Simultaneous Death Act?

If the deceased dies without a will and is survived by no issue and no blood relatives, the surviving spouse is entitled to the entire estate.

Ruby's husband Caleb dies with title to the family home in his name. Caleb's creditors want to force the sale of the home to satisfy the unpaid debts. May Ruby prevent this sale?

Trudy had been a constant companion of Gertrude. When Gertrude died, she left Trudy $10,000 in her will. On what basis might other heirs best attempt to challenge the $10,000 gift?

Dai executes a will and provides copies to all her children. Later, she prepares a different will and destroys the first original will, but not the copies. Has the original will been canceled?

Mathew made his will, leaving his estate to his only son, Andrew. Two years later, he felt inclined to leave $100,000 toward a new old age home under construction in his locality. Mathew may make this bequest:

Stepchildren are given the same legal rights under estate law as natural children.

Parents are legally obligated to leave their property to their children.

A sprinkling trust has a built-in spendthrift provision.