Brother & Stepmother--no problem?

[Tandoor]

What is the name of your state? Washington/Arizona

This i an international matter, but concerns US inheritance law.

I've just been asked a strange question by my Japanese lawyer. I've written a will (to be signed soon) in Japan, where I live, sharing my estate here equally between my brother in Washington state, my stepmother in Arizona, and a close friend in Massachusetts.

The Japanese lawyer asks: Is it really possible in the United States for someone to designate a brother and a stepmother to share in the same inheritance? (She's asking this because to some extent foreign wills are governed in Japan by the home country's rules--she want to make sure I'm not blundering.)

Apparently, by Japanese standards it would be unheard of for a brother and a stepmother to share in an estate.

I told her I didn't think were are any restrictions in the US about such matters. I can pick any relatives I like to share my estate, as far as I know.

Should I tell the lawyer it's perfectly OK in the US for a brother and a stepmother to share in an inheritance? Thank you.

 

[Zigner]

You can pick ANYONE you want - they don't even have to be relatives. You could meet a security guard at a bank, take a shine to him, and leave him a million dollars if you wanted (and, of course, if you had it )

 

[Tandoor]

Thanks... but just to clarify.

Thank you! Very clear and helpful. Since my step-mother is, I suppose, not legally a relative for inheritance purposes, is it preferable (from a US point of view) not to mention that she is my step-mother in the will? In other words, is there any problem with saying something like "to my brother Hamlet, my stepmother Gertrude, and my friend Malvolio, share and share alike"?

 

[lwpat]

You can even include your dog if you do it right.

 

[Dandy Don]

Is Japan the place where you plan to die? Are you an American citizen?

Are you providing complete details about your beneficiaries on a separate piece of paper (their birth dates, last known address and names of family members who could reach them in case they have moved when you die)?

More importantly, have you discussed with your attorney whether he is willing to enforce your wishes and actually distribute the monies as you have directed? If he is not willing to do this or if Japanese law prevents him from doing this, you need to be consulting someone else who will abide by your wishes or set up separate accounts so that your monies can go to individually designated beneficiaries of each account, outside of the will. Or discussing it with a certified estate planner.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

 

[xylene]

DD is absolutely right.

I would be VERY concerned by your lawyers lack of clarity and certainty in regards to these matters.

You should be turning to the lawyer for these things.

If the lawyer does not have the answers, the lawyer needs to get the answers. The lawyer will need to consult with an expert who can give factual satisfaction that what you want is correct and possible.

A lawyer who asks client "Is this legal?" may not be best suited to job.

 

[Tandoor]

More detail...

Thanks for all this, everyone.

Yes, I'm a US citizen, and I plan to die in Japan, and yes, I've included all the information about these three people, and yes, there should be no problem in distributing the funds to these people from here. Also I have, separately, large accounts in the US that will pass to people automatically (TOD) without a will. This will just concerns my assets in Japan, and it will be administered by Japanese authorities. They just want to be sure that US authorities won't raise a stink if a stepmother inherits along with a brother (which, as I say, would be bizarre in Japan).

Actually, when I say this person is 'my lawyer,' I need to qualify that. In Japan the person who drafts a will is a sort of low-level lawyer, closer to a notary in the US. Wills are still a rarity in Japan (almost everyone dies intestate and let's everything go to the family according to the usual rules of succession), so it's hard to get reliable international law information. The notary is in consultation with an international lawyer, but apparently the idea of leaving something to a stepmother is just too strange for him to believe.

I'm going to ask the notary/lawyer to be double sure there is nothing on the Japanese end to get in the way of what I'm trying to do. I doubt the US would find it problematic.
Thanks again.