Wills - Components

Question 1

What is a will composed of?

Answer 1

Whatever sheets of paper are present and intended to comprise the will when it is formalized

Question 2

What are the requirements for incorporation by reference?

Answer 2

(1) Incorporated document is in writing
(2) Will expressly refers to the writing and describes it sufficiently
(3) Writing predates the will (unless in a UPC state)

Question 3

Under the UPC, when may an incorporated document predate the will?

Answer 3

When the writing concerns the distribution of tangible personal property and is signed by the testator

Question 4

What is the doctrine of acts of independent significance?

Answer 4

Bequests expressly conditioned on the testator’s acts are valid if those acts, viewed objectively, affect the testator during the testator’s lifetime

Question 5

Are will provisions that prohibit a beneficiary from taking under the will if the beneficiary marries anyone valid?

Answer 5

Yes

Question 6

Are any restraints on marriage valid?

Answer 6

Yes, partial restraints are valid, such as a prohibition against marriage for a limited period of time

Question 7

What is a power of appointment?

Answer 7

When a testator gives a person the power to choose the beneficiaries under a will

Question 8

What is a general power of appointment?

Answer 8

Allows the person appointed to distribute the assets to anyone, including herself

Question 9

What is a special power of appointment?

Answer 9

A power that limits the persons in whose favor it can be exercised

Question 10

What is a contractual will?

Answer 10

A contract the testator enters into to make a will, not revoke a will, or to die intestate

Question 11

Are will contracts valid?

Answer 11

Yes, so long as they meet the requirements of contract law