Q: I want my son to get an inheritance after I die, but I don’t want him to get it all at once. I’m afraid he would waste it instead of using it for necessities. How can I make sure he only gets a little bit at a time?

A: You need to create a trust and leave the inheritance to someone else who can hold the money for your son and give it to him in small amounts.

Last month I answered the following question: “Who gets my property if I don’t have a will?”

I explained in that column that if you die without a valid will, you die intestate. If you don’t have a proper estate plan in place, a probate court will have to determine your heirs according to state law. If that happens there’s a good chance the court will not distribute your property the same way you would have. The court has no particular concern for the best interests of you and your family.

If you die without a will—or some other means of transferring your property—your assets will be distributed according to Texas law.

It can be tricky to figure out “who gets what” because the answer depends on several factors. I can’t cover every detail of the law in this article, but I can hit the high points.

If you’re not married when you die—this would include single persons and widowers—but you do have children that survive you, all of your property will go to your children.

Last month I had an eye-opening conversation with a gentleman about estate planning. From the very beginning, he told me that one of the goals he wanted to achieve — in fact, it was at the top of his list — was to avoid probate. Above all else, he wanted his property to go directly to his children, completely unmolested by the court or any blood-sucking attorneys.

Do you have a furry family member?  Have you thought about making arrangements to take care of your animal after you die?

 

One way to do this is by establishing a “pet trust” as part of your estate plan (more on that later).  But before you leap ahead, here are some things you can do that will help your pet while you are still alive:

Over the years, I’ve learned that the most difficult estate planning problems do not involve legal or technical issues.  They involve human nature.  It’s easy to tell someone which estate planning documents they need.  It’s impossible to tell them how people will react when they die.

The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Foundation for Health in Aging (FHA) Offers Advice for Preparing “Advance Directive” Medical Documents

Dear Mr. Premack: I am widowed and know that my health is rather poor. I asked my daughter and her husband to move into my home to help care for me. Should I deed the house into my daughter’s name now or let her get it under my Will when I pass on? I still have a mortgage. If I put title in her name, does she need to qualify for a new loan or just keep making payments? What happens to the mortgage if she gets the house under my Will? – SW

If you have had any kind of estate planning documents prepared in your lifetime — documents such as a will, a trust, or powers of attorney — you deserve to be congratulated. Most people still believe that estate planning is only for the rich and they fail to provide even the most basic protection for their families.

Do you have a will? Do you have life insurance, a retirement plan or brokerage accounts? If you answered “yes” to both questions, read on.

 

I recently prepared a revocable trust for a client as a replacement for her handwritten will. Her will stated, in part, “I leave my life insurance and 401k to my grandson.” She was shocked when I told her “Your grandson will get nothing.”

Over the holidays I was asked the following question:

 

“I have a revocable trust as part of my estate plan. After I signed the trust I transferred my certificates of deposit into the trust. Are my CDs protected if I get sued?”

 

This is a question that I’m asked often so I thought it would be a good one to answer in this column.

Dear Mr. Cretsinger:

 

What is a living will?  Is it similar to a living trust?

 

I’m glad you asked this question because it gives me an opportunity to talk about an aspect of estate planning that is often overlooked.

 

A living will and a living trust are both estate planning documents, but the two are very different from each other.  (Don’t let the names fool you.)

Q:

            About a month ago my doctor told me that he paid a lawyer to have a trust prepared as part of an estate plan. My youngest son tells me that you can buy a fill-in-the-blank form for a trust at the office supply store. Is the fill-in-the-blank form the same thing as the trust that my doctor has? If so, why would you pay a lawyer to get a trust?