Circumstances change. Trusts often are not adaptable to those changes. Sometimes trusts run for many years, or even decades. Increasingly, lawyers and trustees turn to trust decanting as a means of updating older trust language. What is trust decanting? Decanting is a relatively recent idea in trust administration. In some circumstances, a trustee may be…
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When an individual receiving Medicaid benefits receives a significant personal injury award, federal law permits creation of a “special needs” trust to hold the proceeds. That way, the individual can continue to receive Medicaid and other government benefits. Although every state’s Medicaid program allows such trusts, state court judges often balk at the concept. A…
The law permitting a digital or electronic will is rapidly developing. We have written about the idea of an electronic will before, advising readers not to rely on this developing law. A recent appellate court decision approved what appears to be the first purely electronic will in American legal history. Even as electronic will laws…
If you already have a trust but want to make changes, do you need a trust amendment, or a new will? Can a will even make changes to your trust? Do you need to change both? These confusing questions often mislead people. Even experienced lawyers sometimes make mistakes. Lloyd and Mabel Meeks’ trust Washington state…
The whole point of a spendthrift trust is to protect the trust’s assets from the beneficiary’s creditors. The name hints at the purpose: the point is to protect someone who can’t control spending. Even if the necessary protection is from himself or herself. Generally, a spendthrift trust can work very well for its intended purpose.…
Have you completed a personal property list to go with your will (and trust)? It’s an important part of your estate plan.
Suppose you have a 17-year-old child with a developmental or cognitive disability. Do you need guardianship before they turn 18? Is it OK to wait, or to forego guardianship altogether? First: what is guardianship? While your children are minors, you have the authority to make medical and placement decisions for them (we’re ignoring the possibility…
We have written before about “trust protectors,” a relatively new concept in American trust law. Because there is not a lot of case law on the subject, the limits of a trust protector’s power (and duty) has not been well-established. Now a new California case fills in a little more detail. Trust protectors — a…
Writing a will shouldn’t be that hard. There’s plenty of online help and advice, and forms readily available. Shouldn’t you be able to write your own will? What could go wrong? Before you consider whether to write your own will, think about the kinds of problems that might arise. If the problems are not great,…
Will challenges are far less common than most people think. One reason: few people have any basis on which to challenge a will, even if they feel aggrieved. In legal terms, most potential challengers simply lack any “standing” to contest a will. A recent Texas case illustrates the concept nicely. Lucy Lee’s will and codicils…