Wills and Trusts Flashcards
occurs at the point that someone dies following the instructions given in their will
- Testamentary transfer
document that sets out real and personal property
Will
4 functions of wills
evidentiary, cautionary, channeling, protective
function that proves if case or controversy arises in will
evidentiary function
Will function: original seal or wax acts as a check
cautionary
Will function: seal signals enforceable promises
channeling function
Will function: protects testator against imposition at time of execution
protective function
What do courts ask of wills?
If they are valid and can be admitted into probate
3 will requirements
in writing, signed by testator, attested by 2 witnesses
Handwritten and signed will
holographic will
Person who creates a trust
settlor
holds legal title to the trust property and is responsible for following the settlor’s instructions. Manages on behalf of beneficiaries with a fiduciary duty; administers the trust
Trustee
entitled to receive distributions from the trust in accordance with the settlor’s instructions but does not control it
beneficiary
the thing in the trust
property/corpus/res
What is the ownership split of things in trusts
Trustee with legal title and beneficiary with equal title
Do trusts go to probate court
No, not owned by anyone (same as T by E and JTWROS)
term for courts trying to reasonably serve settlor’s purposes
dead hand control
as close as possible
cy pres
To establish a trust, corpus must be transferred to?
the trustee
