e3mil.com tiene un panfleto nuevo e interesante que describe nuestros servicios. ¿Distribuiría algunos de ellos a sus amigos católicos? ¿O quizás usted puede ponerlos en el vestíbulo de su parroquia?
Estamos preparados para enviarle por correo 20, 50 o hasta 1000 panfletos a todo color de e3mil. Simplemente envíenos un correo electrónico a voluntarios@e3mil.com para darnos su nombre, número de teléfono y dirección postal. Déjenos saber cuántos panfletos usted quisiera y se los enviaremos a vuelta de correo prontamente.
¡Comparta sobre e3mil y dígale a sus amigos al lugar donde se encuentran la Fe y la Vida!
So do you think you might receive a large inheritance someday? Oh, what problems that would solve! Been making a point of visiting crotchety old Aunt Bea, figuring she must be on the verge of receiving her eternal reward sometime soon? Surely she recognizes how much you love her by now!
Unfortunately, however, given the laws currently on the books in most states, you’d be better off spending your time working the casinos in Vegas, because your chances of hitting paydirt are better playing roulette than waiting for any trickle-down from Aunt Bea’s estate.
Knowledge of the Law is Crucial
Also, the cousin of a wealthy person should not expect anything under the UPC. The wealthy person would have to die without a spouse or children. Even if this happened, the wealthy person’s parents and all of their heirs would also have to be dead. The only way a cousin could take is if the only surviving link was through their common grandparents. A second or third cousin would never be able to inherit under the statute. As such, it is indeed rare for anyone to receive an inheritance from a distant relative.
This does not mean that it is impossible. Someone with the desire to leave a legacy to a distant relative who has knowledge of the respective state’s law on intestate succession can simply draft a will to leave that person a gift. The point is that knowledge of intestacy laws is a necessary prerequisite to drafting a will. The issue of whether or not to draft a will is dependent upon whether or not the statute distributes one’s estate in an acceptable fashion.
No legal article would be complete without a disclaimer. This article is not meant to provide legal advice. Only a licensed attorney retained by the reader is qualified to give legal opinions. Law books, however, are available to the public and should be consulted before determining whether or not legal advice is needed. Readers are encouraged to look at their state laws on intestacy to see if it would be appropriate for them to draft a will. Over the next few weeks we will look at the remaining states’ laws.
Products
100 Answers to Your Questions About Annulments, by Edward Peters
<a href="http://www.e3mil.com/estore/ProdDetails.asp?
TypeID=1&DetailID=957&scatid=”target=_blank>Defending the Faith, by Patrick Madrid
· 10 Mistakes Catholic Parents Make
· Francis Xavier and the Samurai’s Lost Treasure
· Odyssey, A Journey Back Home
· Children’s Classic Puzzle Series
To Draft a Will, or Not to Draft a Will?
That is the question many young couples ask when thinking about their long-term future. The answer is, it all depends.
A will is a legal document that becomes effective upon the death of the maker. It allows the maker to make decisions regarding one’s assets from the grave. One’s hopes and desires can still be carried out, with the force of the courts to ensure compliance. In other words, one’s will can still be imposed on others despite the absence of a living body, hence the reason the document is called a “will.” This exercise of authority, by necessity, is limited to the legal document itself and cannot be changed after death. Therefore, it is often called one’s last will and testament. If one dies with a will, the decedent is said to be testate. If there is no will, the death is said to be intestate.
Estate planning is an issue that almost all states have legislated, or made laws, to address. Therefore, it is difficult to make generalizations on the subject. As a result, one must consult local laws to see if the state has a system of distributing one’s assets agreeably.
If the state-mandated distribution is acceptable to you, then you need not draft a will. The court will simply distribute an intestate’s assets under the statute. If, on the other hand, the statutory distribution is not acceptable, then a visit to an attorney’s office may be appropriate. An attorney can assist the maker with drafting a document that reflects the desires of the individual in a manner that complies with the law. A lawyer can also discuss tax issues and the possibility of avoiding probate (a will being contested in court) with other estate planning tools. However, these are issues best left to future articles.
A Statute for 16 States
The first issue is whether or not the state statute is acceptable to you. This series of articles will focus on the Uniform Probate Code (UPC), which has been adopted in sixteen states. This one law, then, will apply to many readers. Future articles will examine existing law in the remaining states.
The UPC was drafted by a group of scholars and practitioners specializing in estate planning. The law was approved by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, and the American Bar Association. The drafters’ goal was to apply their accumulated expertise to make effective the intent of most people upon their death. They also sought to clarify the state of the law concerning the affairs of decedents in the hope that most jurisdictions would adopt the law so that there would be a consistent system throughout the country. The UPC has been fairly successful in achieving these goals.
The UPC was first promulgated in 1969. It was revised most recently in 1990. To date, it has been adopted in the following 16 states, listed below with their corresponding statutory citations to enable readers to access the applicable law:
• Alaska (13.06.005),
• Arizona (14-1101),
• Colorado (CRSA 15-10-101),
• Florida (FSA 655.82 et seq),
• Hawaii (HRS 539 et seq),
• Idaho (IC 15-1-101),
• Maine (18A MRSA 1-101),
• Michigan (MCLA 700.1101),
• Minnesota (MSA 524.1-101),
• Montana (MCA 72-1-101),
• Nebraska (RRS 1943, 30-2201),
• New Mexico (NMSAA 1978, 45-1-101),
• North Dakota (NDCC 30.1-01-01),
• South Carolina (Code 1976 35-6-10),
• South Dakota (SDCL 29A-1-101), and
• Utah (UCA 1953, 75-1-101).
Most public libraries and all courts have copies of the local statute. Some states, it should be noted, have made some slight variations.
Specifics of the Uniform Probate Code
The UPC law starts with the presumption that all decedents are married. If there is no spouse, then the statute looks for descendants, then parents (including brothers and sisters), then grandparents (including cousins), and finally the state. The law makes no provision for nonprofit organizations such as churches. Although most people want to leave something for charity, Constitutional constraints demand that the state be the final beneficiary. As a result, it behooves charities to educate their members on the law of intestacy and the possible need for a will, depending on the individual’s desire to leave a legacy to an entity.
Basically, a surviving spouse in a UPC state is entitled to the decedent’s entire estate if no child or parent is alive, or if all the children are also descended from the surviving spouse.
• If a parent is still alive and there are no children, then the surviving spouse receives the first $200,000, plus three-fourths of any balance of the estate.
• If there are children from both spouses from separate marriages, then the surviving spouse receives the first $150,000, plus one half of the remaining estate.
• If the children are all related to both spouses, then the surviving spouse receives the first $100,000 plus one half of the balance of the estate.
• If none of the children are descended from the surviving spouse, then the surviving spouse also takes the first $100,000 plus one half of the balance.
That part of the estate not going to the surviving spouse passes as follows:
• to the children;
• if no children, to the parents;
• if no children and no parents, to the brothers and sisters (or their heirs);
• if no children, no parents, and no brothers and sisters (or their heirs), then one half to each set of grand parents (or their heirs);
• if none of the above, then to the state.
The UPC drafters felt that the above-described scheme is what most people would want. Indeed, it is what most people would expect. Thus, if it seems acceptable, there is no need to draft a will. In fact, drafting a will that does not take into account the accumulated knowledge of the drafters could inadvertently deprive the maker of a will of what he or she thinks it appropriate to give to their loved ones. Furthermore, such a will could create hard feelings among those expecting a legacy and may even lead to challenges to the will.
Examples may help clarify the statute’s meaning. A single person’s parents, for instance, will receive their child’s entire estate. The spouse of a newlywed couple without children will take the deceased spouse’s entire estate, unless the estate is sizeable and there are surviving parents, in which case the parents will get part of the estate. A young child of a married couple will not receive anything upon the death of one of his parents. However, if the estate is sizeable, the child can expect to receive half the estate after the surviving spouse takes the first $100,000.
Looking at things from another angle, a child should not expect to receive anything from the death of an intestate grandparent. Instead, the child’s parents will receive the entire estate, assuming the grandparent does not have a surviving spouse.
Related Articles
Drafting A Will: Frequently Asked Questions
