Duluth Georgia Estate Planning Legal Blog

Despite all the information available to them, some seniors neglect to write a will. It could be because they expect to live a lot longer or because they are so busy that it slips their minds. Whatever their reason for not putting their wishes in writing, there are some things a surviving child in Georgia could do to make sure their parent's assets are passed to the appropriate heirs.

The first thing an adult child should do is search for a will. Parents may not share everything with their children, so even though they said they didn't have a will, they could have an old one they forgot about. Survivors should search their parent's home and office. It's possible they've spoken to an attorney or financial adviser and have a business card tucked inside a drawer. If there is definitely no will, a survivor should start gathering financial documents because they'll need them for probate.

While no one wants to think about their mortality, it is worthwhile for Georgia residents to know their options when it comes to planning their funerals. For instance, it is acceptable to put funeral instructions in a will. It is also possible to use a planning declaration to assign someone to oversee the event. Typically, the person who creates the document is allowed to include as many or as few details as he or she wants.

Putting someone in charge of the funeral using this method increases the odds that a person's final wishes are respected. In many cases, family members don't find the will until after a funeral has taken place. It is also possible that they won't even start looking for the will until after a memorial service takes place. In the event that a will is found prior to the funeral, its language is legally binding.

People in Georgia might want to use a trust in an estate plan for a number of reasons. A trust can be used to minimize taxes on assets. With a trust, a grantor can also place conditions on how assets will be distributed. This may include specifying whether distributions will take place over time or tying them to specific conditions such as milestones in the beneficiary's life. The grantor may also use the trust to state what its purpose is.

However, there is one common error people make with trusts, and that is in appointing the right trustee. While choosing a friend or family member may seem like a good idea since that person would be familiar with a grantor's wishes and the family situation, a complex trust may simply be too much for this person to handle. Trustees have a fiduciary duty to invest and manage the assets responsibly, but this could require a level of financial and legal knowledge the person lacks.

Some people in Georgia who are creating an estate plan might wonder how a charitable trust differs from other types of trusts. For example, unlike a regular trust, a charitable trust does not have to name a beneficiary since the general public is supposed to benefit from the trust.

There is a rule against a trust existing in perpetuity, but this does not apply to charitable trusts. The idea behind the rule is to prevent the indefinite restriction of the use of a piece of property, but there is an exception for charitable uses.