My amazing wills, trusts and estates professor from law school, Gerry W. Beyer, recently published an article titled, An Estate Planner’s Guide to Specific Testamentary Gifts, Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law ejournal (2021).
At KT Law Firm, we regularly have clients who are excited to make specific gifts in their estate planning documents for a variety of reasons. Whether to pass along an heirloom or ensure a beneficiary has property to sell in order to gain funds needed, there are a variety issues that arise from specific gifts. Professor Beyer discusses these. Some of the techniques Professor Beyer recommends when making specific gifts in your estate planning are as follows:
- Describe specifically gifted property in detail. A photo might be helpful.
- Indicate whether contents of specifically gifted property are included or excluded from the gift.
- Describe exactly what the beneficiary receives if the specifically gifted item is not in the estate at time of death.
- Provide an alternate beneficiary if the primary beneficiary predeceases the testator.
As members of Wealth Counsel, KT utilizes these and other techniques to ensure your estate plan accomplishes your wishes as best as possible. You may access Gerry W. Beyer’s full article here. Note; some of his techniques do not apply because he is Professor of Law at Texas Tech University School of Law and the article is written for Estate Planners in Texas.