lpdiver

Not to mention if there are children involved.

I personally consulted with an attorney and was instructed how to compose a handwritten will ( the legal term escapes me now). It is easy and can be done at a moments notice.

In my case there are changes that will be made at several junctures. For example if I die soon my wife will probably return to Colombia and my daughter needs to taken care of as well as my wife.

I wrote a will upon our engagement. Rewrote it upon our marriage rewrote upon arrival here of my wife.

Of course there are also community property laws and we are considering residing in Colombia at some point.

This adventure will never end...lol.

ALP & ALP

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Its called a "holographic will" and not all states allow them and the technicalities vary. BTW, the general rule is that the will has to be valid where it was executed. So lets say a will is validly executed in England under English law and the person moves to California -- California will apply English law to determine its validity.

As for holographic laws, I recall that they GENERALLY had to be ENTIRELY in the handwriting of the testator and signed and dated by him or her at the end of the will. There generally has to be some type of testamentary language [The word "will" at the top will do]. I vaguely remember one case where the will was written on stationery with the word "Cragthorn" printed at the top. I forget whether or not it was a valid holograph or not. There was other case law where a rubber-dated stamp was used -- I recall that the will was NOT admitted to probate.

We need not go into things like pre-termitted heirs and such things.

If you don't want to spring for the lawyer, at least invest in Nolo's "Willmaker" program.

In California, they do have "statutory wills" which are designed to meet basic needs. Just like an INS form, you have to follow the directions!

Final BTW -- a will "speaks" as of the date of death -- and generally can't be changed absent an extreme case where "cy pres" doctrine kicks in.

Ray

With the price of land down there now ..I certainly could not afford it ..I am but a poor simple man... the price of land and property has rocketed in Florida this last year.

lpdiver

Thanks Mr F. I was having a major vapor lock and couldn't dig holographic from the vacuum. In Louisiana it is an excellent document as long as someone can testify that it is indeed the deceased persons handwriting.

I did pay for a consult and got a "template" amongst other legal advice.

I recall a supreme court justice died about ten years ago and had a holographic will and a little discussion in the media about it.

It's not for everyone but it fits my personal situation fine at the moment.

Anthony

Capt. Tuttle

sunflwrgrl13 wrote:

    >Originally posted by 207lonsdale
    >
    >>I sometimes think that
    >>
    >it is so much easier for those that are young and don't have any assets,
    >in that they can build a life together; whereas us oldies have the added
    >complication of already having a life!
    >I won't deny that!
    >My hubby and I are in our late 20's and have yet to purchase a house or
    >other assets to worry about. I don't envy y'all the issues you have when
    >bringing these existing assets into a new marriage.
    >The only thing I
    >brought into our marriage was student loans and credit card debts. Which
    >I feel very guilty about having him contribute to paying them off. I
    >feel that I should pay them off since I spent the $$, but luckily he
    >doesn't mind since it will only help us in the long run.
    >I wonder if we
    >should declare some kind of will in case of something happening (one
    >never knows where lightening may strike). eheheh.."I bequeth to my
    >husband, Scott, all of my student loans..." Somehow, that doesn't seem
    >much like a gift.
    >Good luck y'all!
    >
You should make out wills!! I think too many people think wills are
carved in stone. Wills are made to be changed. Like a lot of things it
depends on where you live, but if something should happen and you don't
have a will there are many many problems. Also, it is posssible the
state will take a huge bite out of anything you leave.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

I happen to agree. There are other things taken care of in wills other that property.

Also, on the "cast in stone" comment -- a will can be changed fairly easily during the testator's lifetime, but it DOES become "cast in stone" at time of death -- I mentioned that as part of "speaking" at time of death. Part of the art of will drafting is trying to anticipate the contingencies -- and you have to think along morbid lines. There are some scenarios which unlikely, are not all that far-fetched.

For example -- people may think they have no assets -- suppose the young person's father dies one morning with substantial assets and a large insurance policy with daughter as the sole heir and beneficiary. In her distraught state while rushing to the airport, daughter is killed in auto accident. Who gets the assets?

Buendia

We're in a similar situation - and in some ways I guess it's more difficult. David had a life/work/stability in Ireland and I had the same here. Major decision was deciding where to live!!!

But, I think us oldies are in an enviable position just because we have the assets. The I-864 is easier, the fees are less of a problem... We have two houses now - one in Ireland and one here. His name is on the Irish title, mine is on the one here. I think we'll keep it that way for now. We'll be consulting an attorney regarding our wills. But aside from the houses, we just pooled our finances. No name change - our checks say "David His-last-name or Marci My-last-name" at the top.

Crossing my fingers that this all works out... (and feeling sort of guilty that he did have to give up that life... but so glad he did!)

lpdiver

The ex wife?

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Perhaps. Depends upon the facts. However, I would think that new son-in-law just might get the proceeds of the insurance policy. Depdends upon Dad's will, the terms of the insurance policy.

lpdiver

Something else to consider iswho the owner of the policy will be. I am in a situation where my ex owns a large policy on me and there may be nothing I can do about it as long as she pays the premium.

Not to be negative but marriages do end sometimes.

T

207lonsdale

Most Wills in the UK include a clause which states that if any beneficiary should pre-decease me or not survive me by 30 days then their share of my estate will go to/be divided between ... etc, etc. This clause is included to prevent the scenario you mention above happening! Don't US Wills have a similiar clause?

In the UK, I believe that if such a clause was not included (which may often happen in the case of DIY Wills), then the assets would be distributed in accordance with the sole beneficiaries Will, had the daughter made one. If the daughter had not made a Will, then the laws of intestacy would come into effect.

Julie.

Folinskyinla

Hi Julie:

That is part of my point -- a properly drawn will should have a similar "simultaneous death" provision. Besides avoiding some messes in probate about how survived 30 seconds longer, they are often put in to avoid double taxation.

Leaving things to "intestate succession" can lead to unintended results.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Ex owns the policy and pays for it -- not your problem.

However, but in the situation I posited -- suppose alien husband has a child by ex-wife and child and ex live abroad. Lets say husband and wife are intestate and alien husband was in the car and survives the accident, in a coma for three weeks before dying -- Father-in-law's insurance policy may end up going to the son-in-law's child abroad under the control of his ex-wife. May not be what Daddykins or US wife had in mind.

Hypertweeky

That easy?? Wow! Thanks for the info Ray!!

mstuckaNOSPAM

Just a thought that could be very well incorrect --

It's possible that having your wife on the deed could avoid estate tax
problems. That is, if she's on the deed and you die, she just gets to keep
the house. If you grant it to her through a will, she may have to pay
estate taxes to keep it -- potentially tens of thousands of dollars, I
should think.

(A similar situation faces people who "win" a car in a charity raffle. The
car is yours, as is a bill for several thousands of dollars in sales
taxes.)



Now, the flip side of the coin:
If your wife goes on the deed, I would think she's presumably entitled to
more if, for any reason, the marriage is over. That may depend on state
law in your area; in some states, I understand, joint property can be
evenly split.

No one thinks their marriage is going to decay or their spouse won't be
trustworthy. (Well, some do, but then they shouldn't have gotten married.)
I trusted my first wife, but she betrayed me in record time. It was only
the fact that the marriage was over in such a short period of time that we
had no children or real joint possesions; that made my loss in the
marriage less than $150, for filing charges and a do-it-yourself divorce
book.



Big decisions, and possibly ones that shouldn't be needed just to prove
the validity of your marriage. As Folksinya said early on, you may wish to
check with a lawyer. Good luck.



Mike, very happily remarried



--
Mike Stucka / mstucka at math.luc.edu
This person runs on ethanol, an environmentally friendly alternative fuel.