Chapter 52

Wills, Trusts, and Estates

Presented
Presented by:
by:
Aymun
Aymun iqbal
iqbal quraishi
quraishi
Muhammad
Muhammad arsalan
arsalan khan
khan

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Will

A declaration of how a person wants his

or her property distributed after death.

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Testator – the person who makes a will.

Beneficiary – a person or organization designated in

the will that receives all or a portion of the testator’s
property at the time of the testator’s death.

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Statute of Wills – a state statute that establishes the
requirements for making a valid will.
Testamentary Capacity
Writing
Testator’s Signature

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Wills must be attested to by mentally competent
witnesses.
Most states require two or three witnesses.
Most jurisdictions stipulate that interested parties
cannot be witnesses.

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Codicil – a separate document that must be executed
to amend a will.
It must be executed with the same formalities as a
will.
The codicil must incorporate by reference the will it is
amending.

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A will may be revoked by acts of the
testator.
A will is revoked if the testator intentionally
burns, tears, obliterates, or otherwise
destroys it.
A properly executed subsequent will
revokes a prior will if it specifically states that
it is the testator’s intention to do so.

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Holographic Will
Will that is entirely handwritten and signed
by the testator.
Noncupative Will
Oral will that is made before a witness during
the testator’s last illness.

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 Devise
Bequest

Specific Gift

General Gift
Residuary Gift

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 Ademption
Ademption Abatement
Abatement
If a testator leaves a If the property the testator
specific devise of property leaves is not sufficient to
to a beneficiary, but the satisfy all the beneficiaries
property is no longer in the named in a will and there
estate when the testator are both general and
dies, the beneficiary residuary bequests, the
receives nothing. residuary bequest is
abated first.

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A distribution of the estate that makes
grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the
deceased inherit by representation of their
parent.
i.e., they split what their deceased parent would
have received.
If their parent is not deceased, they receive
nothing.

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 1st DEGREE

Bart
(1/3) 2nd DEGREE

Anne Beth Carla

(1/3) (0)
(deceased)

Clayton 3rd DEGREE

(1/6)
Deborah
Bruce
(1/12 )
(deceased) Cathy
Dominic
(deceased)
(1/12 )
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A distribution of the estate that makes each
grandchild and great-grandchild of the
deceased inherit equally with the children of
the deceased.

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 1st DEGREE

Bart
(1/6) 2nd DEGREE

Anne Beth Carla

(1/6) (1/6)
(deceased)

Clayton 3rd DEGREE

(1/6)
Deborah
Bruce (1/6)
(deceased) Cathy
Dominic
(deceased)
(1/6)
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Uniform Simultaneous Death Act
An act that provides that if people who
would inherit property from each other die
simultaneously, each person’s property is
distributed as though he or she survived.

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 Joint
Joint Will
Will Mutual
Mutual Wills
Wills
A will that is executed by two Occur where two or more
or more testators. testators execute separate
wills that leave their property
to each other on the condition
that the survivor leave the
remaining property at the time
of death as agreed by the
testators.

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Occurs where one person takes advantage of
another person’s mental, emotional, or
physical weakness and unduly persuades that
person to make a will.
The persuasion by the wrongdoer must
overcome the free will of the testator.

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Situation Parties Who Receive Deceased’s Property
Deceased dies with a valid Beneficiaries named in the will.
will
Deceased dies without a valid Heirs set forth in the applicable intestacy statute.
will If there are no heirs, the deceased’s property
escheats (goes) to the state.

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The process of a deceased’s property being
collected, debts and taxes being paid, and the
remainder of the estate being distributed.
Probate Court
A specialized state court that supervises the
administration and settlement of an estate.

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Model law promulgated to establish uniform
rules for the:
Creation of wills
Administration of estates
Resolution of conflicts in settling estates
About one-third of the states have adopted
all or part of the UPC.

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A legal arrangement established when one
person transfers title to property to another
person to be held and used for the benefit of
a third person.
Trust Corpus – the property held in trust.

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Settlor or Trustor – person who creates a
trust
Trustee – person who hold legal title to the
trust corpus and manages the trust for the
benefit of the beneficiary or beneficiaries.
Beneficiary – person for whose benefit a
trust is created.

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 Legal title to the trust corpus
Settlor Trustee

Manages the trust for

the benefit of the
beneficiary or
beneficiaries
Beneficiary or
Equitable title to the trust corpus
Beneficiaries

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A trust created voluntarily by the settlor.
Inter Vivos Trust (Living Trust) – a trust
that is created while the settlor is alive.
Testamentary Trust – a trust created by will:
the trust comes into existence when the
settlor dies.

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A trust that is implied by law or from the
conduct of the parties.
Constructive Trust – an equitable trust that
is imposed by law to avoid fraud, unjust
enrichment, and injustice.
Resulting Trust – a trust that is created by
the conduct of the parties.

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Charitable Trusts – created for the benefit
of a segment of society or society in general.
Spendthrift Trusts – designed to prevent a
beneficiary’s personal creditors from
reaching his or her trust interest.
All control over the trust is removed from the
beneficiary.

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Totten Trusts – created when a person
deposits money in a bank account in his or
her own name and holds it as a trustee for
the benefit of another person.

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A trust is irrevocable unless the settlor
reserves the right to revoke it.
A trust either:
Contains a specific termination date , or
Provides that it will terminate upon the
happening of an event
Upon termination, the trust corpus is
distributed as provided in the trust
agreement.

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