Dying Woman's Family Can't Wait to Get Her Money

[Kit-Ginevra]

Whilst we're on the subject,may I offer the following tips if God forbid tomorrow you get squashed by a steamroller or perish from the septic bite of an escaped armadillo that had a quick chomp in passing.

Ideally you want to make everything nice and straightforward.This should hopefully ensure your wishes are met as far as possible without your inheritors either coming to blows,dragging each other through court or failing to carry them out because they had no clue what you wanted.

You may want to include:

*Wishes for your funeral-cremation or burial? anything special to be done with the ashes? formal or casual dress for your mourners? any specific hymns/readings/songs to be included? a parade of dancing girls or a set of novelty cannons to accompany your departure?

*Essential contact information-will your executors have any clue how to get in touch with online friends to inform them?-do they have passwords to get access to your emails/Facebook/forums?

*Monetary bequests so it's all legally laid down-they might not be happy that you have divided your worldly goods a particular way,but if it's clearly spelt out it will be a lot more difficult to challenge in court.

*Non-monetary bequests:if you want certain people to get specific things,then a detailed list makes it easy to allocate Uncle Fred the collection of obscene walking sticks, Uncle Bob the giant rabbit onesie and Cousin Norman that weird painting that looks like a levitating hamster...

*Any other arrangements:if you're desperate to start a sanctuary for stray armadillos or to give darling niece a grant to go off trekking with armadillos for a year, then make sure it's all outlined.

*Remember to update it regularly to make sure everything is current(addresses change,passwords change and who and what you want to give your money to changes) and remember-your executors are not psychic. If you want particular bequests to be made,you have to tell them



and armadillos...

[taxguykarl]

I am reminded of the movie Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will?.

...and I am reminded of these classics:
Boot to the Head (Phoenix Wright) and
Boot to the Heas (Frantics)
There is an excellent YouTube channel about estate planning and administration. He is a Louisiana lawyer but has good advice that apply everywhere.
Mrs. TGK and her brothers are going through their mother's estate. The final distributions are scheduled (barring some legal snafu) this month or early next. We'll close the estate after I file the tax returns for MIL and her estate (mostly zeros there--as if there aren't already quite enough zeros in Washington & Springfield).

[Ghel]

One of the sons came in today asking about her safe deposit box. He knew she had one because he found the rent notice at her house, as well as keys that might go to the box.

He wanted to know: what happens if the rent doesn't get paid? Can he pay the rent if it hasn't been paid? What should he do with the keys? What if the probate takes more than a year? Will the personal representative still be able to get into the box?

The head teller helped him. She explained how safe deposit boxes work, just in general since she can't tell him anything about his mom's accounts. She explained that if the rent isn't paid, the box will be drilled, and if the personal representative of the estate doesn't pay for the rent and drilling, the contents of the box will be turned over to the state. But he should keep the keys he found, and when they get the probate documents (which should only take a few months, not more than a year), they can bring them in and try to open the box.

Then he wanted to know where the contents would be sent: the nearest city that has state offices or the capitol in St. Paul?

Seriously, dude. Are you that desperate to get your hands on whatever cash your mom might have been stashing in her safe deposit box? Give it up, already!

[Sparklyturtle]

My dad was upset when he wasn't mentioned in my late aunt's will, and he kept calling me complaining that he felt he should have been since he was her brother. Well, yeah, that's true, but she had the right to leave her assets to whomever she chose, and if it didn't happen to be him oh, well. He even asked me if there was anything I could do about that since I was the executor. My answer was a flat, "No." Finally, After listening to his griping about this issue I told him to take it up with her. I guess I got my point across, as I never heard another word about it.