Quirks of Inheritance Law

The laws of inheritance contain some quirks which apply if you don’t make your own Will or Trust, or include a specific provision in your estate plan. The results may catch you by surprise. The good news is you can plan around them.

One quirk happens if you don’t have a Will or Trust, and you had a spouse who died before you. If you inherited real property from your deceased spouse and if your spouse died within the last 15 years, the portion of your estate attributable to your deceased spouse will go to your deceased spouse’s heirs, not your heirs.

You can avoid this result by making your own Will or Trust.

Another quirk can happen when a person you name in your Will or Trust dies before you. You may be surprised that the gift to the deceased beneficiary is not automatically cancelled if that person is “kindred,” meaning a person related by blood or adoption. Instead, the gift will go to the deceased beneficiary’s descendants. So, if you only want the person you named to inherit and intend for the gift to be cancelled if the person is not living, then you must specify your intent in your Will or Trust.

Another common situation concerns gifts made during lifetime intended as an advance on inheritance. For example, you might make a large lifetime gift to a child in need, with the intent that the child’s inheritance when you die will be reduced by the amount of the gift, so as not to favor that child over another child. But, the child’s inheritance will only be reduced if you specifically say so in your Will or Trust, or if you put it in writing at the time you make the gift that the gift is intended as an advance on an inheritance, or if the child acknowledges, in writing, that the gift is an advance on the child’s inheritance.

People often remark that Wills or Trusts are overly long, way too many pages. But, many provisions are included in the estate plan to avoid the quirks of inheritance law, so make sure your specific intent is carried out.

Planning Ahead Column

By Lisa Alexander, Esq.

JAKLE, ALEXANDER & PATTON, LLP - Direct Line: 310-656-4310