If you specify a percentage like 5%, wouldn’t you have to take care of the contingency where there are enough grandchildren so that the total of the percentages exceeds 100%? I.e. if your children are prolific enough to produce 21 or more grandchildren at 5% each…
But what happens when the first spouse dies?
Ours is like that too.
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@oldmom4896 - although state laws differ, generally, legally adopted children have the same rights as biological children (this is not true for step kids). I expect that judges will be very much inclined to interpret the clause “blood line” to include adopted kids. Such language is typically used to exclude step kids and any “in laws.”
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Omg … my great grandfather left a will that didn’t add up. There were 6 kids and I don’t know how many grandkids involved. I don’t recall the details but it led to legal action, rifts and resentment. My “line” didn’t get much out of it because those who could afford lawyers used them and got more.
@BunsenBurner do you know what happens when a previously unknown bloodline kid appears on the scene though?
On the first spouse question? If you mean DH and me, we have A/B trusts. If I die first, H has the income from our assets and he can change those designated to him, but not the assets designated as mine.
If you mean our children’s spouses, they are not included as beneficiaries.
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Sure, there’s probably a line that re-allocates. I think it might be 5% per grandchild up to 50% of the estate/per stirpes if the number of progeny exceeds 10.
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Thanks. Yes, I meant “dh ad you.” Not your children’s spouses.
So if you die first, your dh cannot use the corpus of the trust (your assets) at all - only the income off them? And, who will serve as the trustee, if I may ask?
I probably should go read it again. I was very comfortable with what we designed. We have also had the experience of our parents deaths (3 out of 4 so far) and we agree on the same aspects.
He can use the corpus if he really needs to, but as a golfer, or even as an investor, he can’t buy a golf course!
It would be extremely rare if he would need to use the corpus.
We have a line up of joint trustees at various points. Our largest assets will be in an IRA trust.
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It really is important to read/re-read estate plan periodically, especially as situations change, offspring age, tax laws change, financial situations may change.
One example is that the A/B trust is no longer as common or popular for all but the largest estates as federal estate tax exemption is now >$11 million!
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"to each other with ds as contingent if we both pass simultaneously. " - That setup is common, ours is same, but 2 children contingent**. We have no other spouses/children, and we trust each other to do the right things in future (ie prenup, if remarrying). Down the road, we may revisit this and create a trust to deal with splits for children/grandchildren.
** The contingency is important not only for simultaneous passing but also because a widow/widower sometimes never gets around to revisiting the estate plan. Elderly spouses passing within a year of each other is fairly common.
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@badgolfer — as you can see by this thread, there is much to ponder and no one right answer. Having a good estate attorney can help you walk through the more likely scenarios and get you as close as possible to what you’d like. Good luck in your generous journey.
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It makes me sad to read the stories, on forums, in books, etc., of one of the longtime couple dying, the second remarrying, then dying and all the couples assets go to the children of that second spouse because things were not set up to protect against that occurrence. It makes me wonder, are widows/widowers so very lonely and desperate that they just don’t take the time to think things through? Were these people where one might have predicted this outcome?
I cannot imagine anything happening where I do not protect my kids from that, but could I be vulnerable? Should even the educated/active/responsible couples lock in these protections?
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As people age, their judgement can be impaired, long before they become incompetent.
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Are widows/widowers so very lonely they don’t think things through? Often.
It’s marrying someone on the rebound. You think of that effect with teens after a breakup but it’s the same or worse for longtime couples. The loneliness can be overwhelming.
Were these people where one might have predicted this outcome? No. You can’t know. And the more horror stories you are familiar with the answer becomes clear.
I know of one particularly smart elderly widower (very business savvy, always consulted lawyers) who just went nuts for a much younger woman (a floozy by anyone’s standards) shortly after his wife’s death. Married her immediately to everyone’s shock.
His kids pleaded with him, his lawyers BEGGED him to change his estate plan to protect his family. Not a chance–he was in love. Everyone saw it coming but him.
And then he died leaving it all to the young woman. Let’s just say the lawyers made some more money from the fallout.
Should even the educated/responsible couples lock in these protections? Yes. Because you simply cannot predict.
Wills are NOT a “one and done” type of document. They need to be revisited as assets grow, as families grow, as circumstances change. If you change your mind, you can change the will.
And they can be work–a good estate and probate attorney might present you with a very long document with trusts, circumstances, and a lot of legalese.
And you might wonder “why all the fuss?” Because you need to be protected–from unnecessary tax assessments, from money/property landing in a probate court for years that you can’t get your hands on to even live.
Off my soap box.
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@badgolfer, I know that you originally posted to get help and advice from the forum, but I think that you inadvertently helped the rest of us to consider, review, and revisit our wills and living trusts. I really appreciate that.
I agree, with everyone, that an experienced, reputed, estate attorney should be able to designate your exact wishes.
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I remember when my grandfather married a widow after his wife died, he was probably in his 70s at the time. My aunts were upset that she would inherit his money (not that he had much - but he did own a house). Well, he outlived wife number two also. You never know what will happen.
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Then there are the stories where an old man marries a slightly younger woman and she ends up being his nurse in his senior years. It’s only fair to provide for her too. Some children are only too eager to have the woman take care of dad in his declining years so they don’t have to, but then object when it comes to giving her a portion of the estate.
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So true!
A similar situation happened in my family. One family member and her immediate family assumed an aunt was going to leave her modest estate to the niece. The aunt had never married, never had children. When the aunt became housebound because of age, the niece rarely visited though they lived in the same town. A much older nephew helped the aunt out weekly, visiting, shopping, yardwork, etc. Previously, he had never really been accepted into the inner family circle and some thought little of him. When the aunt died, it was discovered she had changed her will to leave almost everything to the nephew.
The niece and her family were shocked and cried foul. They said the niece was always the aunt’s favorite member of the family. And that was probably true. Until the last years of the aunt’s life arrived and she found out who truly cared enough to take care of her.
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Your lawyer should be able to answer all those questions. It’s not off-base. It’s your property and anything you put on your will is your business. I suppose the best part about being departed is that you don’t have to deal with any of the disputes afterwards. Just do the best you can and whatever happens happens 
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