Category Archives: Wills and Living Trusts

Wills versus living trusts. What is the difference between a will and a living trust?

Who’s the owner of a 1958 Corvette convertible?

This story is taken from one published in the Daily Republic.

“A California judge will apparently decide who owns that yellow Corvette in June.

One thing we do know for sure is that 75-year-old George Bristol owned the Corvette, valued at some $97,000, prior to his death in a traffic accident on Dec. 14, 2016.

After that, though, the picture grows murky.

An administrator of the estate, Jared Bristol, says the Corvette is now in the possession of Laura Hazelett, who he claims in his lawsuit was having a relationship with George Bristol before he died late last year in his 2004 Toyota Tacoma, which left the road, went airborne, and crashed into the side of a large drainage canal.

Jared Bristol filed a lawsuit against Hazelett on Wednesday in Fairfield, Calif., claiming that she forged George Bristol’s signature on forms that she filed in January 2017 with the Department of Motor Vehicles saying that George Bristol had given her the car two days before his death.

The lawsuit asks that the DMV not be allowed to transfer ownership of the Corvette to anyone while the estate is in probate.

The Daily Republic reached out to Hazelett for comment on the allegations of the suit but received no response.”

If George Bristol had included his Corvette in his estate planning, this issue would not have arisen. He could have named Hazelett or anyone else as the owner of the valuable car. Whoever was named would have inherited it and there would have been no court fight.

Be sure that you have an estate plan and that it includes any valuable assets you own. That way, you will save your loved ones time, effort and expense…and your wishes will be carried out.

For information about estate planning, go to www.diesmart.com.

Was he really dead?

Sir Jimmy Young, a radio DJ in the UK, died in November 2016 at age 95. He left an estate worth more than 2.7 million pounds and a bizarre last request.

In his will, Jimmy requested that his dead body be given a lethal injection before burial because he had a fear of being buried alive.

It’s not know whether the request was carried out though he was really dead before his interment.

Whether you have a weird request or not, be sure to prepare your will and to include any of your special wishes. If they’re not included, your loved ones may not know about them and may not be able to fulfill those wishes.

For more information about end of life planning, go to www.diesmart.com.

Ever heard of Charles Millar’s birth derby?

Charles Vance Millar, a wealthy Canadian lawyer was known for his practical jokes. But his biggest prank of all was the one he left in his last will and testament. When his will was read after he died on October 31, 1926, it was revealed that he had made several unusual bequests.

Millar had no close relatives or heirs but he did have a great deal of cash and properties. He gave shares in a jockey club to gambling opponents and shares in a brewery to teetotalling religious leaders. He left his house in Jamaica to three men who hated one another, on the condition that they would own it together.

But his most unusual bequest was made for the balance of his estate – approximately $9 million (in today’s Canadian dollars). The remainder would be bequeathed a decade later “to the mother who has since my death given birth in Toronto to the greatest number of children as shown by the registrations under the Vital Statistics Act.” If there was a tie, he wanted his fortune to be divided equally among the winners.

It’s not known how many families decided to try to win this prize. However, by the deadline in 1936, more than 24 Toronto families had had at least eight babies during the ten year period.

“Ten years after Millar’s death, 32 lawyers showed up to an initial hearing to claim a share of the fortune for the families they represented. After some quick record scanning, though, the presiding judge, William Middleton, cleared out everyone who didn’t have at least nine kids younger than 10. That left six families.”

Two of those families settled for about $200,000 each. Pauline Clark had 10 children during the specified time; however, five were born out of wedlock. The judge interpreted the bequest to mean “legitimate children”. Lillian Kenny gave birth to 11 children but three of them were stillborn. The judge said “A child born dead is not in truth a child.” Hence the reduced settlement.

Four other families with nine children each – the Timlecks (see photo above), the Nagles, the Smith and the MacLeans – were each awarded the equivalent of about $2 million!

This bequest is probably a lot more unusual than anything you will put in your will. However, whatever you want to do with your money once your deceased should be well documented so that your wishes will be carried out.

For more information about wills and trusts, check out our website http://www.diesmart.com.

Do you have a will?

It’s never too soon to write a will.

Reginald “Jake” Gutierrez, a Washington state police officer, was fatally shot while responding to a domestic violence call in early December. He had been with the Tacoma police department since 1999 and was highly respected and experienced.

Although he had a career in a dangerous field, he had not taken the steps necessary to protect his family if he was killed. He lived with his fiancé, Rebecca Humphrey, and had talked about writing a will before they were married… but had not done it before his death.

Gutierrez was the breadwinner in their family, supporting Rebecca as she started a small business. Now he is gone and Rebecca cannot access any of his money. His estate will have to go through the probate process before she will possibly have access to any money.

Meanwhile, bills are piling up. The Tacoma Police Department gave her $2,000 to cover her immediate needs and also set up a fund for the family. But she will burn thru the $2,000 very quickly and doesn’t know how or when the fund will be distributed.

Rebecca is hopeful that everything will be worked out. She says that Jake’s family hasn’t been fighting over money. However, she wants others to hear her story and prepare for the worst. She says “If you love your kids or fiancé or spouse, please think about that now for them so they don’t have to when they are grieving.”

If Gutierrez had written a will before his death, a lot of anguish and difficulty could have been avoided.

Even though you may not have a career in a dangerous field, you cannot plan when you will die. You should prepare now and make decisions on how to take care of your family when you’re gone. See an estate planning attorney or, if you have a simple estate, find a form on the internet. But, whatever, you do, write your will today.

For more information about wills and estate planning, check out our website http://www.diesmart.com.

What’s a big problem in China? No wills!

It’s only been in the last 30 years that China has allowed people to accumulate wealth. Prior to that, it really didn’t matter. There was no private property to pass along to a descendant so a will was not needed.

Now, some of the first generation to benefit from the ability to accumulate wealth are dying and it’s causing a huge problem with inheritance disputes that are taking up the time of the courts and causing rifts between family members.

We came across a story in USA Today that illustrated the problem and explained what the Chinese government is trying to do to fix it.

“When people die without a will their children scramble for their property, damaging family ties and having a negative effect on society,” the state-run Xinhua News Agency has warned.

“Only 1% of China’s 220 million seniors have drawn up inheritance plans, according to best estimates. The reason is cultural: talking about death is taboo and writing a will is akin to putting a curse on yourself.”

“Consider the publicized case of Yan Jiying, a coal baron from the northern province of Shanxi. He died in 2015 at the age of 71, leaving his estranged wife, long-term mistress and six children to fight over his assets.”

“The government is calling on local authorities around the country to establish free legal centers for those over 60. One charity doing that since 2013 is the China Will Registration Center, founded by Chen Kai, a young lawyer with a passion to protect seniors. “

“ The waiting list for appointments at his first Beijing center now stretches into September, proof that people will write a will if they can find support they trust, Chen said. “We want to teach old people that they are the masters of their fortune, that they have the right to decide what happens to their hard-earned money, ” he said.”

“On a recent morning around a dozen seniors were squeezed around a communal table at the center, diligently transcribing the final copy of their will. They begin by dictating their wishes to a lawyer, who types up a draft. The clients are then evaluated by a visiting psychiatrist to establish clarity of mind, they record video testimony of their wishes in the presence of two independent witnesses, and finally copy the final document by hand.”

“For many, the last step is the hardest. Most are over 70 and have shaky hands or poor eyesight. Transcribing a page of formal Chinese characters mistake-free is no easy task. But Chen is adamant that they do it this way, saying he has seen too many badly written wills challenged. He wants his clients to be sure their wishes will be respected even if some family members do not like them.”

Although the percentage of people in the United States having wills is much higher than 1%, it’s still below 50%. If you don’t have a will, you should consider preparing one so that your family won’t have to deal with issues related to your estate once you’re gone. To find out more about preparing a will and other estate planning steps, check out our website http://www.diesmart.com.