Summer Estate Planning Trivia
It's time for Lubnau Law’s Summer Estate Planning Trivia!
True or False: Having a Will avoids probate?
FALSE! Having a Will guarantees your loved ones will have to go through the probate court process at the time of your death. While a Will can designate whom your assets are given to and who can act as Personal Representative, Court intervention still is required to legally transfer real property and a variety of other assets.
True or False: If I don’t create an estate plan or if my plan created long ago fails to provide for my current life situation, the State of Wyoming will decide what happens.
TRUE! Every state has default laws (intestacy laws) that become the authority if a person has no estate planning documents at the time of death. Wyoming’s intestacy laws state that one-half of assets go to the spouse and one-half to children, even if the child(ren) is/are a minor(s). Additionally, a spouse will have priority making decisions and receiving property. If there is no spouse and/or children, their assets would be granted to their heirs (siblings, cousins, etc.). There could be a number of reasons why you wouldn’t want your spouse to make certain decisions or receive certain property.
If you have an estate plan that doesn’t reflect your current situation, consider having it reviewed and updated. When you experience a significant life event such as marriage, divorce, retirement, birth or death of a loved one, a change to your estate plan may be necessary.
True or False: A Will accomplishes all the same goals as a Trust but is cheaper.
FALSE! While a Will and Trust both gives instructions of how you want your property distributed at your death, the biggest difference is a will has no effect until your death. A Trust, on the other hand, can be used to assist your loved ones to care for you in your incapacity. More importantly, a court probate is not necessary if your assets are owned by your Trust. For example, Son wants to sell mom’s home to pay for the costs of the assisted living facility. If Mom has only a Will, Son would be required to petition the Court for a Conservatorship for the authority to sell the home on mom’s behalf. In the alternate, if Mom’s residence was owned by her Trust, Son would have the authority, under the terms of the Trust, to sell Mom’s home without Court intervention.
Well... how did you do? Whether you got all three correct or zero, Lubnau Law is here to help you with all of your estate planning needs. Call us to get started: (307) 682-1313