What is the definition of "%" in a will?

[gordon55]

What is the name of your state? California :-(

I have a question on the meaning of "%" in a will.
For example, lets say that all my assets are:
$300K in an IRA with my sister listed as beneficiary
$200K in my checking account

Suppose, in my will, I bequeath 10% of my estate to my brother.
Is that 10% of 200K or 10% of 500K?

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? California :-(

I have a question on the meaning of "%" in a will.
For example, lets say that all my assets are:
$300K in an IRA with my sister listed as beneficiary
$200K in my checking account

Suppose, in my will, I bequeath 10% of my estate to my brother.
Is that 10% of 200K or 10% of 500K?

Its 10% of 200k. The 300k in your IRA has a beneficiary. Therefore it will belong entirely to the beneficiary and will pass outside of your estate. If both your bank account and the IRA had beneficiaries, your brother would get 10% of nothing.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Its 10% of 200k. The 300k in your IRA has a beneficiary. Therefore it will belong entirely to the beneficiary and will pass outside of your estate. If both your bank account and the IRA had beneficiaries, your brother would get 10% of nothing.

I agree with that in the abstract but caution that without reading the exact text of the will and seeing all the facts concerning the decedent's assets it's not possible to say with complete certainty how it would come out.

 

[justalayman]

Suppose, in my will, I bequeath 10% of my estate to my brother.
Is that 10% of 200K or 10% of 500K?

It’s whatever you define it as. With that in mind, make sure you make your intentions clear so the beneficiaries don’t have to spend money getting this question answered after you die.

 

[LdiJ]

I agree with that in the abstract but caution that without reading the exact text of the will and seeing all the facts concerning the decedent's assets it's not possible to say with complete certainty how it would come out.

Is it your position that there could be some wording in a will that would erase or change a beneficiary listing on an asset? I am not being snarky, I am interested to know.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Is it your position that there could be some wording in a will that would erase or change a beneficiary listing on an asset? I am not being snarky, I am interested to know.

I'm not saying that the wording of the will might in some cases override the beneficiary designation on the IRA account. It wouldn't; at least not by itself. But without knowing the details of the entire will and what assets there are, it is impossible to know for sure what any beneficiary will get. Also, there is the chance that the beneficiary designation on the IRA got botched one way or another, with the result that the IRA ends up in the estate. I have seen plenty of probate situations where the outcome ended up something other than what the decedent may have intended because of sloppy drafting or other mistakes made in putting together the estate plan. This happens most often, of course, when people do their own estate plans and really don't know what they are doing.

 

[adjusterjack]

Its 10% of 200k.

As asked

Suppose, in my will, I bequeath 10% of my estate to my brother.

it would be 10% of the entire estate (home, cars, personal property, etc) including the $200k but not including the IRA.

 

[TrustUser]

just to add 2 cents - remember that a trust or a will only deals with assets that they control

a trust must have assets specifically titled to the trust, before the trust controls them

a will basically controls everything that is not a part of something else (i.e. a trust or a named beneficiary)

you can also choose to give away certain assets in one way, and the remainder with percentages

or most any other combination that you can CLEARLY DEFINE in words

you can also make a trust a beneficiary of an ira/pension, and make all actual distributions thru the language of a trust

 

[LdiJ]

As asked



it would be 10% of the entire estate (home, cars, personal property, etc) including the $200k but not including the IRA.

I answered the hypothetical that was asked.

 

[FlyingRon]

And note, that any debts the estate has comes off the top before the 10% is apportioned out.