6 yr. old named in will !!

[hammerman]

What is the name of your state? ohio hello all,,,,my grandmother wants to redo her will so my daughter will no longer get anything. she's gone off the deep end(daughter.) she has a 6yr.old son (my grandson) that is the light of my and, my gr-mothers' life. gramma wants to will the house & land to me and my gr-son. i'm afraid that because he's only 6 , his mother will be in charge of his inheritance until he turns legal age. yes or no ? any way to have me be in charge of his 1/2 till he's legal w/out involving her at all ? i think it would be best to only will the property to me since all of my life ins. and will is made out to him. i'm setting mine up with a trust for him to keep my daughter out of it. any advice is greatly appreciated. the simpler the better. thanks much. ps. gramma raised me as her son and i moved back in 8 yr.s ago to take care of her and the place. my daughter & gr-son don't live w/me & gramma , but close by.....if it matters.

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state? ohio hello all,,,,my grandmother wants to redo her will so my daughter will no longer get anything. she's gone off the deep end(daughter.) she has a 6yr.old son (my grandson) that is the light of my and, my gr-mothers' life. gramma wants to will the house & land to me and my gr-son. i'm afraid that because he's only 6 , his mother will be in charge of his inheritance until he turns legal age. yes or no ? any way to have me be in charge of his 1/2 till he's legal w/out involving her at all ? i think it would be best to only will the property to me since all of my life ins. and will is made out to him. i'm setting mine up with a trust for him to keep my daughter out of it. any advice is greatly appreciated. the simpler the better. thanks much. ps. gramma raised me as her son and i moved back in 8 yr.s ago to take care of her and the place. my daughter & gr-son don't live w/me & gramma , but close by.....if it matters.

**A: seems like you have no say.

 

[FlyingRon]

Grandmother can set up her will to direct into a trust with whomever she wants as a trustee.

 

[Dandy Don]

Most large banks have a trust department that could handle this for her.

 

[hammerman]

huh?

**A: seems like you have no say.

HUH ? QUESTION IS......, will the mother of the 6 yr. old be able to treat his inheritance as if it were hers because she has sole legal custody of him ?

 

[Zigner]

HUH ? QUESTION IS......, will the mother of the 6 yr. old be able to treat his inheritance as if it were hers because she has sole legal custody of him ?

You question was already answered above.

 

[hammerman]

Grandmother can set up her will to direct into a trust with whomever she wants as a trustee.

ok, can the executor also be the trustee ? also, if gramma gave me a warranty deed to the property , would this simply remove the property from her list of assets ,so it would no longer be part of her estate and thus, she would not need to change her will at all ? or, would the original will , w/my daughter named to get the property, still allow her to claim the property as hers....,even though , w/the warranty deed, the property would be in my name only ?

 

[divgradcurl]

ok, can the executor also be the trustee ? also, if gramma gave me a warranty deed to the property , would this simply remove the property from her list of assets ,so it would no longer be part of her estate and thus, she would not need to change her will at all ? or, would the original will , w/my daughter named to get the property, still allow her to claim the property as hers....,even though , w/the warranty deed, the property would be in my name only ?

The general rule is that any specific gift in a will that doesn't exist or isn't owned by the decedent at the time of his or her death simply abates -- in other words, the person gets nothing. That said, if this has the potential to be a contentious issue, your grandmother would be well-advised to simply change her will to make her decisions plain to everyone, rather than rely on the operation of law along with a gift to you.

 

[hammerman]

The general rule is that any specific gift in a will that doesn't exist or isn't owned by the decedent at the time of his or her death simply abates -- in other words, the person gets nothing. That said, if this has the potential to be a contentious issue, your grandmother would be well-advised to simply change her will to make her decisions plain to everyone, rather than rely on the operation of law along with a gift to you.

thank you for intelligent , down to earth answer. never been throught this b4 but...wouldn't the warranty deed also keep the house and land from having to go through the probate process...., and since the property taxes and ins. are all current....i see no downside to the warranty deed at all. is there one ? thanks again for your time.

 

[divgradcurl]

wouldn't the warranty deed also keep the house and land from having to go through the probate process

Yes, it would -- but why would you want to avoid probate? Other than the time it takes and the relatively minor costs (unless the estate is valued over $1.6 Million or whatever the exclusion is currently), there are a lot of tax advantages to letting the property go through probate. If the property is gifted to you, when you go to sell it, the taxes on the sale will be based on the difference between the sale price and the original basis for the property, which is probably the original purchase price. If the property was purchased some time ago, and has appreciated, this could result in a pretty significant tax burden. However, if the property goes through probate, the basis for the purposes of calculating gain gets "stepped up" to the fair market value at the time of death, which can significantly reduce any taxable gains when you go to sell later.

 

[anteater]

Another possibility: Ohio is one of the relarively few states that permits Transfer-on-Death deeds. No probate and the asset still receives the step up in basis upon the owenr's death.

 

[Dandy Don]

If mother is named as trustee, she might be able to gain control but she would face serious legal problems if it was proved she spent any monies on herself. Someone needs to make sure that the assets for the 6-year old are managed by a responsible party, whoever the trustee is, preferably not the mother. An attorney or certified financial planner can instruct you on exactly how the assets should be set up to achieve what you want (no control by the mother).