Leaving Everything To Spouse In Will

Discussion in 'Money Matters' started by Rihana, Sep 18, 2020.

  1. Hopikrishnan

    Hopikrishnan Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,258
    Likes Received:
    1,325
    Trophy Points:
    283
    Gender:
    Male
    "Me and only me" is the cleverest choice a married man can make. LOL!! Live a Long, Healthy and joyful life.

    [Usually in such choices, there are contingent agents named. As in... Mrs. x will pull the plug, and if Mrs.X doesn't survive me, then my son Master X will do the deed, and if the Mrs. and Master X both do not survive me, then Brother Z will do it... and so forth.]
     
    Thyagarajan, joylokhi and Rihana like this.
  2. joylokhi

    joylokhi Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,725
    Likes Received:
    2,519
    Trophy Points:
    285
    Gender:
    Female
    QUOTETaking some random numbers: husband and wife are of the same age; if the wife dies at 62, and the husband lives till 85, her share of their assets cannot be majorly distributed right after she dies. In other words, it is not ideal that at 62, he loses a spouse as well as a major portion of their assets (that go to adult children and others).UNQUOTE

    Here, I am not talking of the common assets to be handed over. Like in my personal case, I have some FDs and other bank accounts that are solely my savings that I would like my sibling to have after me, as he is not in a position to manage his own financial affairs, and i am helping him when I am alive. The common assets would automatically be divided among the spouse and children as their inheritance being legal heirs.
    Situations keep changing and its not always easy to ensure that even the will made actually gets implemented in the manner expected, but we can try to make things easy by a properly laid down clear will.
     
    Thyagarajan and Hopikrishnan like this.
  3. Thyagarajan

    Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    11,577
    Likes Received:
    12,423
    Trophy Points:
    615
    Gender:
    Male
    :hello:

    • A Will was made by a ripe old man that his pregnant grand daughter delivers a son then 2/3 rd of estate goes to her son and remaining 1/3 rd to be given to grand daughter.
    • If instead of son, grand daughter delivers a girl child, then 2/3rd of his estate would go to his grand daughter and remaining 1/3 rd share to be given to great grand daughter.
    Will is abundantly clear.

    Grand old man expires after which his grand daughter delivered healthy twins - a boy and a girl.

    As per above ‘will’, how the grand old man’s estate shall be divided between the twins and their mother?

    Thanks and Regards.

    God - even after deaths, mathematics division - mind boggling!
     
    Rihana and Hopikrishnan like this.
  4. Hopikrishnan

    Hopikrishnan Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,258
    Likes Received:
    1,325
    Trophy Points:
    283
    Gender:
    Male
    Grand daughter's share= 0.5* (1/3) for male child+0.5*(2/3) for female child = Half of the estate
    G'Grand Children's share = 2/6 for male child, 1/6 for female child = Half of the estate

    Any number of children of one or the other gender can be accommodated in the above calculations.
    Fuzzy "feature"s (such as the 3rd gender) can cause confusion to the Solomon in the court.
     
  5. Hopikrishnan

    Hopikrishnan Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,258
    Likes Received:
    1,325
    Trophy Points:
    283
    Gender:
    Male
    It’s an old adage that probate proceedings and trust accountings never include cash or guns. We are rapidly getting to the point that we can add “accounts accessed by password” to the list of things that the general public will not be consulting their attorneys about when a loved one dies.
    From: Post-Death Administration in the Age of Access by Password

    That California legal assistance website has some good advice:
    "It is truly difficult to watch a client with a legal claim to an asset unable to defend an account against fraud because they have simply taken over a loved one’s login credentials instead of taking the time to ask for assistance to legally transfer ownership of the asset.

    Though I have not seen it yet, I worry about the separate property accessed with a password by a surviving spouse who doesn’t bother to notify a bank or check a beneficiary designation only to find out a child of the deceased spouse, or non-family third party has claim to that money.

    To help avoid such a situation, here are a few practitioner tips:...."
    Probates of wills in a court is a long process. And in cases where "real property" (tangible property, or real estate) is involved, it is even longer. In the meantime, if the beneficiaries of a will happen to be financially dependent on the decedent, it is important for the decedent-to-be to create schemes where continued sponsorship happens while the beneficiaries wait for their share of the estate.


     
    joylokhi and Rihana like this.
  6. Hopikrishnan

    Hopikrishnan Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,258
    Likes Received:
    1,325
    Trophy Points:
    283
    Gender:
    Male
    Passwords of the dear-departed should be a separate thread on its own.
     
    joylokhi likes this.
  7. joylokhi

    joylokhi Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,725
    Likes Received:
    2,519
    Trophy Points:
    285
    Gender:
    Female
    This is very important in current scenario where everything is held online ,especially demat transactions etc. I maintain an annual diary - with knowledge of my family - although contents are not made known as such, containing complete list of all online transactions with the passwords for each. I make it a point to update the same throughout the year and open a fresh one in January every year . This is with the hope that family can access it when required in my absence.
     
    Thyagarajan and Hopikrishnan like this.
  8. Afresh

    Afresh Gold IL'ite

    Messages:
    526
    Likes Received:
    901
    Trophy Points:
    188
    Gender:
    Female
    Given everything is hunky dory and assumption about everyone will morally do the right thing, question of will doesn't arise
    It is safe to assume that you posed this question on the basis of above assumption as the first para here talks about belief that inheritance will be passed on to their children.
    In this context, the solution given by the succession act in India is pretty clear and unambiguous. People do not need to write will because they believe that everything will get sorted on death of both parents irrespective of which spouse goes first ( kids usually would let the surviving parent sit on the asset , if it was not clearly marked for them by the deceased parent after them).
    I don't agree with the advantage that you listed above viz ' Simpler will to write' because then you are transferring the burden to your spouse.
    However, if there is substantial amounts involved, parents in their lifetime ( assuming adult kids)in shared agreement can mull over how to divide the assets they have between their kids removing those that they would need for their survival over the next 20-30 years.
    Since, if the couple has crossed middle ages, they might want to have little stuff to worry about than what they would like to in their prime and distribution of assets ( except their primary requirements like residential home and income sources) can be done amongst their children in common agreement.
    If the reason to leave everything to surviving spouse is to secure their future then the decisions related to it should also be left to them, as trust or confidence in any person works more than anything anywhere.
    I completely agree and second that children shouldn't have any expectation of inheritance and they could view it as bonus if it works out.

    This whole scenario is assuming that parents have older kids and they are more or less settled adults.
    However, in other cases, situation and treatment may have to be modified to suit the requirements of the individual case/s.
     
    joylokhi, Rihana and Hopikrishnan like this.
  9. Thyagarajan

    Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    11,577
    Likes Received:
    12,423
    Trophy Points:
    615
    Gender:
    Male
    :hello: I have a friend (84) who said he had put everything in writing in separate folders for each of his investment category as to what to do in his absence and how to proceed to claim or and bequeath. He had kept cash too for expenses separately for his last rites. He had even told whom he had nominated what. I don’t know what to call it! Is it preparation, caution or precaution. But kins are happy.

    Ps. In India a person having demat a/c can nominate a person. I presume Even stocks can be transferred to another demat a/c holder. I presume you would continue stay in US for few more months.

    Regards.
     
    joylokhi likes this.
  10. Hopikrishnan

    Hopikrishnan Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,258
    Likes Received:
    1,325
    Trophy Points:
    283
    Gender:
    Male
    Letting the succession Act in India do its thing, and not writing a detailed will would be a severe punishment for the heirs. Establishing the bona fides of the heirs is a major, time consuming job. When the lawyers are not working on a contingency (of eventual payment) this attitude will deplete the wealth of the heirs before they get access to their fraction of the estate. In contested cases, the thing will drag on for generations in India. In many contested cases, a clever descendent will estimate the cost-benefits, and decide to abdicate the share.

    Without a will, the succession act will give EQUAL SHARES to class-1 heirs. Imagine an estate lawyer in an intestacy case, trying to establish who is who, and then dealing with a contested case.
    Here is the list of class-1 heirs:
    • Sons
    • Daughters
    • Widow
    • Mother
    • Son of a pre-deceased son
    • Daughter of a pre-deceased son
    • Son of a pre-deceased daughter
    • Daughter of a pre-deceased daughter
    • Widow of a pre-deceased son
    • Son of a pre-deceased son of a pre-deceased son
    • Daughter of a pre-deceased son of a pre-deceased son
    • Widow of a pre-deceased son of a pre-deceased son
    • Son of a predeceased daughter of a predeceased daughter
    • Daughter of a deceased daughter of a predeceased daughter
    • Daughter of a predeceased son of a predeceased daughter
    • Daughter of a predeceased daughter of predeceased son

    Making things as easy as possible for the heirs is the best approach. Whether it be with clearly written wills, or even more complete instructions as in:
     
    joylokhi and Afresh like this.

Share This Page