Lawyer in Sioux Falls

Clay L wrote:

dons2346 wrote:

Clay L wrote:
If you use Alternative Resources as your mail forwarding service I think Paul can recommend one. I believe he mentioned one in a newsletter once.

Paul is no longer at Alternative. He has retired

I didn't know that. I am surprised there wasn't some sort of announcement. Maybe there was and I missed it. Who is taking his place?

There was an announcement. Here are the new guys in town. New Owners

dons2346 wrote:

Clay L wrote:
If you use Alternative Resources as your mail forwarding service I think Paul can recommend one. I believe he mentioned one in a newsletter once.

Paul is no longer at Alternative. He has retired

I didn't know that. I am surprised there wasn't some sort of announcement. Maybe there was and I missed it. Who is taking his place?

The will that accompanies a Living Trust is commonly referred to as a “Pourover Will”. It states that any assets accumulated by the Trustee and not in the Trust automatically move into the trust upon the Trustee's death.

Clay L wrote:
If you use Alternative Resources as your mail forwarding service I think Paul can recommend one. I believe he mentioned one in a newsletter once.

Paul is no longer at Alternative. He has retired

Check with the attorney as some do not like to update a will or trust another attorney initiated.

We are in the middle of settling my dad's estate who had a will and a living trust. If there is a living trust all accounts have to be retitled into the name of the trust as well as all physical property and vehicles. IRA's, 401K's, employee stock plans and life insurance should have beneficiaries. With all that being said we are still going to probate as my dad had an employee stock plan that did not have a beneficiary, but because of the funds in the account we are going to probate and more than likely have to pay over 10K to get my mother her money. We double checked everything and God forbid if mom passes everything is taken care of.

Living trusts should be updated every 5 years per our attorney. I also found out that if you list your minor children as beneficiaries on your accounts you should appoint a custodian for the kids to manage the money in case you pass.

pianotuna, are you Canadian? I don't know about intestacy there, but the OP is in the U.S.

There are no states that provide that the government takes anything by virtue of a person dying intestate. Every state has an intestacy statute that lists who inherits property in the absence of a valid will, and none of them include the government as a beneficiary.

If a person who dies intestate has no family whatsoever (including distant relatives) who can inherit the estate, then the estate escheats to the government, but the government is not a beneficiary; it is just where the property goes because it has to go somewhere. This obviously almost never happens.

If a person has family members and dies without a will, the government will not get the estate. It may not be divided up among the family members the way the dead person may have wanted, but it will go to family and not the government.

I do wonder, since your wording has changed a little bit, to "by the time the government is through," if you mean that an intestate estate might be reduced by costs of administering it. That's entirely possible, since a court will have to determine who the family members are. That will involve a lot more work than merely probating a will, but it is not the same as the government "getting" someone's estate if they die intestate.

Also, note that states have different requirements for holographic wills. One that is hand-written and includes a witness' signature still might not qualify as a will and will have no effect whatsoever--it will be as if it didn't exist at all.

Living trusts can be a good idea in some states, but note that all of a person's assets have to re-titled to be owned by the trust. It's not hard, but if you forget an asset, or buy something without thinking to put ownership in the trust, it won't be covered by the trust. For that reason, living trusts (should) always also have a will, just in case something gets left out. And it will have to be probated if there end up being assets that aren't owned by the living trust.

Where ever you are google Intestate Succession.

Where I live, by the time the government is through 50% of the estate is a gonner.

Rice wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Hi Scott,

I was not suggesting "roll your own" except as a last resort. The worst of all worlds is to have no will at all and have the government swoop in and take 50%.

I've never heard of the government taking 50% of a person's estate because he died without a will. Can you explain?

Carolyn and Don....she rewrote our Trust, wills, etc. She was very easy to work with.

As oppose to a will you may want to consider a Living Trust. A Living Trust does not need to be probated, a will does. Avoiding probate avoids the Will snoops who may think they have a claim on your assets. Check it out before you finalize any documents. Along with a trust or will you'll need Power of Attorneys for both financial and health issues.

Dianne,
Thanks for the attorney's name. Did Carolyn Thompson write a will for you?