Wills

Marriage and divorce are significant events that can substantially impact your will.

Remarriage:

• In many states, a subsequent marriage generally revokes a previously executed will, unless the will specifically addresses the possibility of marriage, or the will was made in contemplation of that marriage.
• Even without automatic revocation, new spouses typically have statutory rights to claim a portion of your estate regardless of what your will says.
• Stepchildren have no automatic inheritance rights unless legally adopted.
• Prenuptial agreements can modify these default rules.

Divorce:

• In most states, divorce automatically revokes will provisions benefiting your ex-spouse.
• Provisions naming former in-laws may remain valid.
• Beneficiary designations on non-probate assets, such as retirement accounts and insurance, may not be automatically revoked by divorce.
• Provisions for children generally remain intact.

After either event, you should:

• Execute a new will reflecting your current wishes.
• Update beneficiary designations on all accounts.
• Review/revise powers of attorney and healthcare directives.
• Consider trusts to balance obligations to new spouse and children from previous relationships.

Remember that while these answers provide general guidance, estate planning should be tailored to your specific situation with the help of qualified professionals, including an attorney, financial advisor, and accountant.

When selecting an executor (personal representative), consider these important factors:

• Willingness: Your executor should be agreeable to serving in this role.
• Availability: The executor must have the willingness, capacity, and attentiveness to handle potentially years of estate administration.
• Capability: Estate settlement is a complex and time-consuming job requiring financial literacy and an understanding of investments, taxes, and legal matters.
• Organizational skills: Capacity to track deadlines, paperwork, and administrative details.
• Trustworthiness: Complete honesty and integrity are essential.
• Objectivity: Ability to make fair, unbiased decisions regarding estate matters.
• Location: An executor who lives close to your assets may have an easier time administering the estate.
• Conflict management skills: Ability to navigate family dynamics and potential disagreements.
• Corporate vs. individual: Consider whether appointing Truist as a corporate fiduciary might be preferable to relying solely on family members or friends.
• Co-executors: You might appoint a family member or friend as co-executor to provide oversight alongside a corporate executor.

A will can incorporate several tax-reduction strategies.

• Credit shelter provisions: Create a credit shelter (bypass) trust in your will to utilize both spouses' estate tax exemptions.
• Marital deduction planning: Direct certain assets to your spouse to take advantage of the unlimited marital deduction.
• Charitable bequests: Include gifts to qualified charities in your will to provide estate tax deductions.
• QTIPs and QDOTs: Create qualified terminable interest property trusts for spouses or qualified domestic trusts for non-citizen spouses.
• Pour-over provisions: Direct assets to an existing trust that contains tax-advantaged provisions.
• Disclaimer planning: Allow surviving spouse the flexibility to disclaim assets to trigger contingent provisions, optimizing tax outcomes based on circumstances at death.
• Generation-skipping planning: Structure bequests to utilize generation-skipping transfer tax exemption.
• State estate tax planning: Create state-specific provisions to address states with lower exemption amounts than federal.
• Business succession planning: Include provisions for tax-efficient transfer of business interests.

Modern wills often include flexible provisions that allow executors and trustees to make post-death tax elections based on tax laws and family circumstances at the time of death.

When you move to a new state or have assets in multiple jurisdictions, several important implications arise.

• Legal validity: Provisions that are valid in one state may be invalid in another
• Multiple probate proceedings: Assets in different states/countries may require separate probate proceedings.
• Conflicting laws: Different jurisdictions have varying rules regarding:
  • Marital property rights
  • Inheritance taxes and estate taxes
  • Will execution requirements
  • Trust recognition and administration
• Timing complications: Dealing with multiple jurisdictions can delay distributions.
• Foreign property considerations: Some countries restrict foreign ownership or inheritance.
• Administrative challenges: Having an executor and witnesses residing in a distant state could hamper the administration and settlement of your estate. Multiple proceedings can increase legal fees and complexity.
• Property laws: Different states have different approaches to property ownership.

Potential solutions include:

• Creating a revocable living trust to hold multi-jurisdictional assets
• Using transfer-on-death designations where available
• Creating separate wills for different jurisdictions (carefully coordinated to avoid conflicts)
• Joint ownership in some circumstances

Professional guidance from advisors familiar with all relevant jurisdictions is particularly important in these situations.

Rather than following a fixed schedule, consider reviewing your will whenever significant life events occur, including:

• Family changes: Births, deaths, marriages, or divorces
• Asset changes: Significant increase/decrease in wealth, buying/selling major assets
• Relocating to another state: Different state laws may affect will provisions
• Substantial changes in estate value: Significant increases or decreases in your wealth
• Business changes: Starting, buying, or selling a business; entering buy-sell agreements; changing business structure; or the death of a business partner
• Tax law changes: On average, tax laws change every couple of years
• Health changes: Significant diagnosis that might affect your planning timeline
• Relationship changes: Estrangements or reconciliations with potential beneficiaries

Many estate planning attorneys offer periodic review services to ensure your documents remain current.