T.O.D. and a will

What is the name of your state? ohio
question about a will and someone doing a transfer on death for all of their assets. I am the only child and beneficiary from my parents. my mother recently passed but she had changed their wills and added my 2 sons equal shares as me. One is a minor still. Actually i did the wills using some legal software because she wanted me as executor and not an attorney to get any money.
But my stepfather said he has made all his accounts-stocks, 401 and bank accounts and also the house to transfer on death to me only. also i am the life insurance beneficiary. What about the will then? I read that the TOD takes precedence. Its not that i wont give the kids money, but i dont want them left with a bunch to spend. I want to control what they get. If everything is TOD, do i have to go thru probate at all? A lawyer told him to do it that way with one sole beneficiary involved and also that it will avoid probate.

my mother recently passed but she had changed their wills and added my 2 sons equal shares as me. One is a minor still. Actually i did the wills using some legal software because she wanted me as executor and not an attorney to get any money.

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You post doesn't make sense. If your mother had a will and changed it to include your sons, then as executor you must adhere to the will and distribute the funds accordingly.

But my stepfather said he has made all his accounts-stocks, 401 and bank accounts and also the house to transfer on death to me only.

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Is this a separate will or did your stepfather inherit/contest your mother's will and receive benefits?

See where I'm going? You can't have it both ways. Either your mother's will is valid or your stepfather received benefits of your mother's estate and has wrapped them into his estate.

Try again and this time be more explicit.

And one more thing. The insurance policy does not come under the purvue of the estate. It is a separate matter.

re: tod and wills

FIrst off my parents redid the wills a few years ago.
my mother passed 2 years ago and since they were married , there was no inheriting..all was jointly owned..just the usual married wills where everything goes to either spouse upon death. my stepdads father just passed also leaving quite a portfolio of stocks and money to him, which he set up with a TOD to me with the investment firm handling it. anyway. now, since he outlived my mother and i am the only child he made TOD of all his assets. so what i am understanding is that the TOD holds first and anything left out can be upheld by a will-if there is even a need. If he includes all accounts and property then there really isnt anything left to probate.correct?

TOD assets

If your stepfather has made all of his assets TOD to you, then there will be no need to probate the estate, except for the filing and payment of an Ohio estate tax return if the assets passed exceed $ 339,000.

estate taxes

Hi, thanks..i thought the estate tax limit was higher than that? like 675,000 or so?
what is that limit i keep hearing about that is going up over the next 10 years or something... is there a federal amount and state amount?
if its only 339000..he needs to hide some!!!.that stinks..

339K is the State of Ohio exemption.

$339,000 is the State of Ohio exemption. The other one you heard about is the federal estate tax exemption, which will rise to 1 million in 2010, then revert to $675,000.00. Also be aware that anything that your father, (or you acting on his behalf), transfers out of his name for less than fair market value within 3 years before his death can be brought back into the estate and taxed after death. So please be carefl how you proceed to avoid penalties.