What Happens When Wills Are Too Old?
As time goes on, even the best of estate plans deteriorate. When it comes to a last will and testament, it's best to update things every year or so or when certain life events occur. Read on to find out why visiting your probate or estate lawyer every so often is a good idea.
When Property Disappears
Wills can be as complex and detailed as you wish. In some cases, creators of wills take seriously the need to address assets that mean a lot to them using specific beneficiaries. For example, you might bequeath your family silver set to your daughter. This is an excellent way to ensure that a beneficiary receives exactly what you want them to have and nothing more or less. This way of making out a will presents less confusion when the will is read because it's specific and detailed.
Problems can occur, however, when wills are old. The parties, if they are still living, will be read the will and expect to receive the designated property. What if, though, the silver set you wanted your daughter to inherit has been stolen? That means no silver set for your daughter. An updated will might have addressed that issue and substituted other assets.
When the property designated to be inherited in the will is liquid, even more problems with not updating the will can occur. Estate assets include not just homes, cars, and the family silver set but cash too. Money in a bank account or cash stashed away in a safe deposit box can be bequeathed to others too. If you decided to leave cash to someone, however, it's vital that the cash still exists. The beneficiary must still inherit the cash even if it no longer exists. In a facet of estate matters known as ademption, cash bequests must be honored even if it means selling other estate property to do so. Unfortunately, doing so might mean taking away from another beneficiary. For example, if you left your son $10,000 in cash from a savings account and that money was no longer in the savings account at the time of your death, the money might have to come from the sale of that family silver. This way of doing things can mean some beneficiaries have an unfair advantage over others. With an update, you might have canceled the bequest of cash and provided property instead.
Not only would updating address the missing money or property, but you might also consider making part of your estate available to a certain group of survivors. For example, you could still name certain beneficiaries and certain assets but leave the bulk of the estate open to an even split between your adult children.
Speak to your probate or estate attorney to learn more about probate law and wills.
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