Deck 49: Wills, Trusts, and Estates

Question 1

A decedent is an individual who has died; if the decedent has left a will, he is referred to as a testatrix.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

An estate refers to all the real and personal property that the decedent owns or has an interest in at the time of his death.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Freedom of disposition is the common law principle that testators should be free to dispose of their property at death in any way they want.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The freedom of disposition is absolute as testators may impose only reasonable conditions in their will.

Question 5

When you die, whether or not you leave a will, your estate will go through a process called probate.

Question 6

During the intestate process, the decedent's estate will be distributed according to the terms of his will or by operation of intestate law if no valid will exists.

Question 7

There are two main types of trusts, revocable and irrevocable.

Question 8

Assets in a trust are transferred outside of the probate system, saving time and court fees, and potentially reducing estate taxes as well.

Question 9

If an asset is left to a spouse or a federally recognized charity, the tax usually does not apply.

Question 10

The National Conference of Commissioners on the Uniform Probate Code has drafted two uniform acts pertaining to probate and trusts.

Question 11

Which of the following is identified as an individual who has died with a will?

A) trustee
B) decedent
C) descendent
D) None of the choices are correct

Question 12

What is the concept called when a decedent has not left a will?

A) dying testator
B) dying intestate
C) dying testatrix
D) dying with inventory

Question 13

The estate for an individual includes

A) financial investments
B) real property
C) personal property
D) All of the choices are correct

Question 14

A __________ is a legal document in which a person, the testator, expresses his wishes as to how his estate is to be distributed at death, and in which the testator appoints an executor to manage the estate until its final distribution.

A) contract
B) trust
C) verbal assertion
D) will

Question 15

A __________ is a way in which a testator can change his will and is a separate testamentary document whose purpose is to amend an existing will.

A) codicil
B) service
C) novation
D) None of the choices are correct

Question 16

The executor acts as a legal conveyor who designates where the donations will be sent using the information left in __________, whether they will be sent to charity or other organizations.

A) easement
B) bequests
C) leasehold
D) trust

Question 17

One of the most important principles in the law of wills is the notion of freedom of __________.

A) disposition
B) testatorship
C) installation
D) privity

Question 18

If a person dies without a will, what happens to his/her property?

A) The property passes in accordance to the intestate statute of the decedent's state of domicile
B) The property escheats to the state where the decedent was domiciled
C) The property passes according to the wishes of the decedent's spouse or next of kin
D) The property passes to the decedent's children or next of kin

Question 19

The leading justification for freedom of disposition has to do with __________.

A) good faith principles
B) possession
C) ownership
D) incentives

Question 20

In Shapira v. Union National Bank, Ohio Court of Common Pleas, 315 N.E.2d 825 (1974), the court held that

A) the right to convey property by will is a creature of the law, and is not a natural right.
B) the right to receive property by will is a creature of the law, and is not a natural right
C) the right to receive property by will is a natural right, and is not a creature of the law.
D) the right to receive property by will creates a leasehold estate.

Question 21

In Shaw Family Archives v. CMG Worldwide, 486 F. Supp. 2d 309 (S.D.N.Y. 2007), the court held that

A) New York did recognize a transferable postmortem right of publicity.
B) New York did not recognize a statutory postmortem right of publicity.
C) New York did not recognize a transferable postmortem right of publicity.
D) None of the choices are correct.

Question 22

When you die, whether or not you leave a will your estate will go through a process called __________.

A) processing
B) litigation
C) eviction
D) probate

Question 23

The probate process is governed by __________ law.

A) state
B) federal
C) regulatory
D) administrative

Question 24

When a person dies, someone, usually a family member, may petition a court in the decedent's state of domicile to appoint a __________ to protect and distribute the property in the decedent's estate.

A) friend of the court
B) lawyer
C) property owner
D) personal representative

Question 25

If the decedent owned property in other states, a separate, __________ probate might have to be opened-and a personal representative appointed-in each of those states.

A) statutory
B) contemporaneous
C) ancillary
D) leasehold

Question 26

The probate process is supposed to protect the rights of __________.

A) personal representatives
B) lawyers
C) creditors
D) anyone related to the decedent

Question 27

Any __________ among the decedent's beneficiaries or heirs are heard and resolved during the probate process.

A) conflicts
B) claims
C) disputes
D) All of the choices are correct

Question 28

What property interests may not be subject to probate?

A) land
B) life insurance proceeds
C) marital
D) All of the choices are correct

Question 29

There are __________ main types of trusts.

A) two
B) four
C) six
D) eleven

Question 30

A trust is a __________-party fiduciary relationship.

A) two
B) three
C) six
D) eleven

Question 31

__________ trusts (or living trusts) are created during the trustor's lifetime.

A) Constructive
B) Revocable
C) Irrevocable
D) Leasehold

Question 32

What is not considered a strategic benefit of a trust?

A) control
B) protection against spendthrifts
C) privacy and probate savings
D) quiet enjoyment

Question 33

A trustee may perform the following duties except:

A) preserving, protecting, and defending the corpus of the trust
B) maintenance of accurate records
C) taking possession of trust property to make it profitable
D) delegation of the performance of trust duties

Question 34

A charitable remainder trust is used to reduce income and capital gains taxes while increasing the trustor's immediate cash flow. Some of the benefits for the trustor of this type include:

A) the trust never ends and continues to perform charitable acts for the beneficiaries without the need for the trustor to be involved
B) an income for the trustor which is free of taxes
C) a lifetime of income from the trust assets during his/her life or a specified number of years
D) None of the choices are correct

Question 35

Some Uniform Trust Code provisions provide against attack by family members and address which of the following concerns:

A) a person contesting the validity of a trust at any time will be removed as a trust beneficiary.
B) a person contesting the validity of a trust which was irrevocable at the trustor's death within one year after the trustor's death.
C) a person contesting the validity of a trust which was revocable at the trustor's death within three years after the trustor's death.
D) person contesting the validity of a trust which was revocable at the trustor's death within ten years after the trustor's death.

Question 36

The __________ tax, a tax on the transfer of the estate of a deceased person, applies to property that is transferred via a will or according to state laws of intestacy.

A) lease
B) transfer
C) estate
D) None of the choices are correct

Question 37

Under the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of __________, estates that exceed $11.2 million are subject to a 40 percent estate tax at the time of death if the death occurs between 2018 and 2025.

A) 2012
B) 2013
C) 2015
D) 2017

Question 38

The estate tax is one part of the __________ and estate tax system in the United States.

A) possession
B) transfer
C) probate
D) unified gift

Question 39

The main difference between an estate tax and a/an __________ tax is who pays the tax.

A) transfer
B) variance
C) easement
D) inheritance

Question 40

If an __________ is left to a spouse or a federally recognized charity, the tax usually does not apply.

A) entry point
B) estate
C) asset
D) easement

Question 41

The __________ is a comprehensive model act drafted by National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) governing inheritance and decedents' estates in the United States.

A) The Uniform Inheritance Code
B) The Allocated Probate Code
C) The Uniform Probate Annotations
D) The Uniform Probate Code

Question 42

A person attempting to determine the law in a specific state should check the code __________ in that jurisdiction and not rely on the text of the UPC.

A) as adopted
B) as codified
C) All of the choices are correct
D) None of the choices are correct

Question 43

In Payne v. Stalley, 672 So. 2d 822 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1995), the court held that

A) Florida's probate law applied to this case
B) The Uniform Probate Code applied to this case
C) both Florida's probate law and the Uniform Probate Code applied to the facts of the case
D) None of the choices are correct

Question 44

The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws has drafted __________ uniform acts pertaining to probate and trusts.

A) two
B) three
C) four
D) five

Question 45

The Uniform Probate Code is a comprehensive model act governing inheritance and decedents' estates, while the __________ is a comprehensive model act governing the creation of trusts.

A) Litigation Trust Code
B) Uniform Trust Code
C) Arrangement Trust Code
D) None of the choices are correct

Question 46

Explain what a will is, the parties involved, and the requirement for valid formation.

Question 47

Explain the process of probate and how assets are distributed.

Question 48

What is a trust and who are the parties involved?

Question 49

Describe the difference between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. Explain why these taxes are subject to debate and state laws which may differ.

Question 50

Describe the roles of the Uniform Probate Code and Uniform Trust Code in the development of state law.