Wills & Trusts Flashcards
KEY TOPICS: WILLS
- EXECUTION OF WILLS
- REVOCATION OF WILLS
- INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE AND FACTS OF INDEPENDENT SIGNIFICANCE
- CHANGES IN BENEFICIARIES AND PROPERTY AFTER WILL’S EXECUTION
- AMBIGUITIES AND MISTAKES
- INTESTATE SUCCESSION
- RESTRICTIONS ON POWER OF TESTATION
- PROTECTION ON THE CHILD
- CONDUCT BARRING HEIR OR BENEFICIARY FROM TAKING
- WILL CONTESTS
- PROBATE AND ESTATE ADMINISTRATION
KEY TOPICS: TRUSTS
EXECUTION OF WILLS
STATUTORY FORMALITIES
- Age 18 or over
- In Writing
- Testator Must Sign (Liberally construed)
- At the End of the Will
- Two Attesting Witnesses
- Witnesses must sign in testator’s presence and in the presence of each other
NOTE: no publication requirement in FL, witnesses don’t need to know that they are witnessing a will and no particular order of signing is required
TESTATOR’S SIGNATURE
Signature: mark affixed by the testator with the intent that it operate as a signature. May be made by another person at the testator’s direction and in the testator’s presence.
Signature marks the end of the will
Signature At End Requirement: If a portion of the will follows the testator’s signature the entire will is invalid. Testator’s signature must follow immediately after the final dispositive provision of the will.
If a will provision is added after the testator’s signature after the will is executed, the will is valid, but the provision is not
Electronic Signature is Permitted: for any instrument under the Florida Probation Code
HOLOGRAPHIC AND ORAL WILLS
NOT VALID IN FLORIDA
Holographic Wills: meaning a will in the testator’s handwriting and without witnesses. Not valid in FL even if validly made in another state
PRESENCE REQUIREMENTS
Presence: Scope of Vision v. Conscious Presence
- Scope of Vision: in presence only if they could see each other sign if they were to look-no impediment to visual contact (minority rule)
- Conscious Presence: witnesses are conscious of where each other is and what each other is doing (majority of jurisdictions)
REMOTE WITNESSING
FOREIGN WILLS
A will executed by a non-resident of Florida is valid in FL if validly executed under the law of the place where the testator was at the time of execution
Foreign Domiciliary with Land in Florida:
- Primary administration in place of domicile at death
- Ancillary administration anywhere testator owned real property
- Will in Foreign language valid but English translation must be provided
- Will recognized if complies with law of place of testator’s domicile at the time of execution (EXCEPTION - no unattested holographs)
ANCILARY ADMINISTRATION
INTERESTED WITNESS
At Common Law: witness who is also a beneficiary wasn’t competent, and the will couldn’t be probate unless there were two other witnesses.
FL has abolished this rule and allow interested witnesses to take under the will
PROOF OF WILLS
To be probated a will must be proved
- Oath of one attesting witness before circuit judge or court clerk; or if not possible
- Oath of personal representative named in will
Self Proving Wills: During testator’s lifetime: testator and witness sign affidavit under oath before notary public. Execution of formalities conclusively presumed
Witness signatures on self-proving affidavit satisfy witness signature requirement for will
ELECTRONIC WILLS
FL permits a will to be carried out online
Signature, attestation of witnesses, and the execution of a self-proving affidavit may all be done remotely (by supervised video conference with an online notary)
Remote witnessing provisions don’t apply in a will for a vulnerable adult
May be self-proving: must be attached or associated with the electronic will with a designated qualified custodian (consistantly maintains a system for controlling electronic materials)
REVOCATION OF WILLS
Best way: Expressly and executed just like a will
Other Methods:
- Revocation by Physical Act - burning, tearing, canceling, defacing, obliterating, or destroying it with the intent to revoke. Intent must be concurrent with act. Note - cancellation act must touch some language of the will - MUST CROSS THE LANGUAGE OF THE WILL IT’S SELF, NOT A COPY OR PICTURE
- Revocation by Written Instrument - all or part of a will may be revoked or altered by a subsequent instrument executed with the same formalities as a will. If there is an inconsistency, later document controls
- Revocation By Operation of Law
REVOCATION BY PHYSICAL ACT
Burning, tearing, canceling, defacing, obliterating, or destroying it with the intent to revoke.
NOTE: accidental destruction of a will or codicil does not revoke it, the intent to revoke must be present at the time of the physical act of destruction.
Duplicates: ACT OF REVOCATION ON ONE EXECUTED COPY REVOKES ALL EXECUTED COPIES)
NOTE: Electronic - deleting, canceling, or obliterating with the intent and for the purpose of revoking shown by clear and convincing evidence.
PRESUMPTIONS:
- Will found in mutilated condition - presumption is the testator did that act with intent to revoke
- Will last seen to be in T’s possession and control and can’t be found - presumption is reason it can’t be found is that T destroyed with intent to revoke
Revocation by Proxy: FL permits a will to be revoked by a physical act by another person, provided that the revocation is [Intent+Act+Presence]
- At the testator’s direction and
- In the testator’s presence
LOST OR DESTROYED WILLS
The lost will statute must be satisfied by proving the testimony of two disinterested witnesses or by one disinterested witness and a photocopy or carbon copy (but not a draft) of the will
Due execution by the oath of one of the attesting witnesses and specific contents by the testimony of to disinterested witnesses or by one disinterested witness and a photocopy or carbon copy of the will
REVOCATION BY WRITTEN INSTRUMENT
All or part of a will may be revoked or altered by a subsequent instrument executed with the same formalities as a will. If there is an inconsistency, later document controls
Effect of Revoking a Codicil: revocation of a codicil to a will does not automatically revoke the will - it is presumed that the testator intended their will as originally executed
REVOCATION BY OPERATION OF LAW
A will may be partially or totally revoked by operation of law in the event of subsequent marriage, divorce, annulment, or birth or adoption of children. We assume the testator wouldn’t want the will to operate in view of the changed family situation
Petermitted Spouses and Children: marriage after the execution, or children born or adopted after the execution of the will are pretermitted and entitled to a share of the estate
Divorce or Annulment Revokes All Provisions in Favor of Former Spouse: the will is read as if the former spouse predeceased the testator - REVOKES ALL PROVISIONS IN FAVOR OF THE EX-SPOUSE, CONSTRUE THE WILL AS IF SPOUSE IS DEAD
Mere separation has no effect on rights under a will UNLESS in conjunction with complete property settlement - the rights waived
Effect of Remarriage: Will provisions remain revoked, but FL probate code says status in most non-probate transfers are revived (life insurance, POD TOD accounts, joint back accounts) unclear what happens with a revocable trust
INTERLINEATIONS AND CHANGES AFTER EXECUTION
Disregarded unless they are so extensive as to show intent to revoke the entire will. They can be given effect only if the will is republished by codicil or re-executed
NOTE: Can’t revoke part of a will by physical act in FL
NO REVIVAL OF REVOKED WILLS
Revival: at common law an earlier will is automatically revived when a later will is revoked
In FL - once a will is revoked by language of revocation contained in a later will, it is legally dead and cannot be revived unless the will is:
- Re-executed with the necessary formalities
- Republished by executing a codicil to the will
Merely destroying the later will and the language of revocation therein doesn’t revive the earlier will
DEPENDENT RELATIVE REVOCATION (DRR)
Doctrine allowing courts to disregard revocation that would not have occurred but for the testator’s mistaken belief that another disposition was valid
Applies when a testator revokes their will under the mistaken belief that another disposition of their property would be effective, and but for this mistaken belief, they would not have revoked the will.
BUT FOR is the key to this test - to apply this test - compares the consequences of undoing the revocation of will 2 with not undoing the revocation - undo the revocation when that comes closer to meeting the testator’s intent
Other Circumstances: defective execution of a second document (i.e. only one witness) and will one is revoked by physical act, because of the mistake belief that 2 was valid, can undo the revocation of will 1
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE AND FACTS OF INDEPENDENT SIGNIFICANCE
Incorporation: When can you incorporate extrinsic documents by reference/
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
- Writing in existence at time of will execution
- Will must manifest intent to incorporate documents, AND
- will describes writing sufficiently to permit identification
EXCEPTION - LIST DISPOSING OF ITEMS OF TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY
In FL - permits will to refer to written statement that disposes of tangible personal property
- must be signed by the testator
- must describe property with reasonable certainty
- list may be written or altered at any time
TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY ONLY - NO MONEY, REAL ESTATE, STOCKS OR BONDS
FACTS OF INDEPENDENT SIGNIFICANCE
A will may dispose of property by reference to acts and events, even though they are in the future and unattested, if they have significance apart from their effect on dispositions made by the will
Acts having an independent lifetime motive may impact on the will as well
Any lifetime motive will allow impact to a will
CHANGES IN BENEFICIARIES AND PROPERTY AFTER WILL’S EXECUTION
MOST FREQUENTLY TESTED WILLS ISSUES - Post execution, pre-death changes
LAPSE
ADEMPTION
EXONERATION OF LIENS
LAPSED GIFTS AND ANTI-LAPSE STATUTE
Lapse (most frequently tested wills issue!) - when the beneficiary names in the will or revocable trust dies before the testator it lapses (IT FAILS, falls to the residue, and passes as part of the residuary estate)
UNLESS - saved by the state anti-lapse statute
FL STATUTE: applies when the predeceasing beneficiary is the:
- Testator’s grandparent OR
- Lineal descendant of grandparent AND
- Leaves issue
If satisfied, substituted in to take the person’s place.
Anti-lapse statute doesn’t apply if there is an “if x survives me” clause
CLASS GIFT
If a will makes a gift to a class, only the class members who survive the testator take a share of the gift, unless the will provides otherwise or the anti-lapse statute’s requirements are met
LAPSE IN RESIDUAARY GIFT
“All the remainder to….”
If the residuary estate is devised to two or more persons and the gift to one of them fails for any reason, the surviving residuary devisees take the entire residuary estate in proportion to their interests in the residue
CLASSIFICATION OF TESTAMENTARY GIFTS
- Specific Devise: Gift of specific asset
- General Legacy: is a gift of a general economic benefit payable out of the general assets of the estate without requiring any particular source of payment - specified pecuniary amount
- Demonstrative Legacy: Gift of specified pecuniary amount with funding instructions
- Residuary Bequest: rest, reside, and remainder of estate
ORDER OF ABATEMENT
Abatement is the process of reducing testamentary gifts in cases where the estates assets aren’t sufficient to pay all claims against the estate adn satisfy all bequests adn devises
- Intestacy Property
- Residuary Estate
- General Legacies
- Demonstrative Legacies
- Specific Gifts
In FL - this is the process used when you need to raise money for share amounts (more on this later)
ADEMPTION
Specific gift not in estate at death fails - beneficiary takes noting
Applies only to specific gifts and bequests
FL Law: Special Rules (outline these more) - Ademption does not apply:
- Testator Incapacitated - if specifically devised property is sold by a guardian, or if condemnation award or insurance proceeds relating to the property are paid to the guardian, the specific devisee has a right to a general legacy equal to the net sale price, condemnation award, or insurance proceeds unless the testator’s disability has been adjudicated to have ceased and the testator survives the adjudication by one year
- Certain Proceeds to Extent Unpaid at Testator’s Death - In cases not involving sale by guardian, a specific devisee has a right to the remaining specifically devised property and:
- any balance owing under a contract that’s still executor at the testator’s death
- Any amount of a condemnation award for the taking of property by eminent domain - but only to the extent that the award is unpaid at the testator’s death
- Any fire or casualty insurance proceeds unpaid at the time of T death
- Property acquired as a result of a foreclosure of a security interest on a specifically devised note
INCREASE IN STOCK
Specific Devisees take the increase caused by stock split or dividend
A SD of stock is entitled to any additional or other securities of the entity owned by the testator because of action initiated by the entity, excluding shares acquired by the exercise of purchase options
BEQUESTS OF SECURITIES
The courts will construe a bequest of securities as a general legacy, if it is possible to do so, in order to avoid application of the ademption doctrine. The cases turn on whether the testator made a gift of “x Shares” or of “my x shares”
EXONERATION OF LIENS
No exoneration unless intent shown in will -
AMBIGUITIES AND MISTAKES