Trusts and Estates
| Inheritance Without Planning Means No Adding to the Default Plan |
|
| When a person dies intestate (without making and leaving a will), each state provides a default plan (usually known as the statute of descent and distribution) under with his or her net estate is disposed. When a person dies intestate, there is no adding to the default plan. The default plan is the only plan. This article discusses the disadvantages of descent and distribution related to the inability to add to the default plan. More... |
|
|
| Inheritance Without Planning Means No Provisions Beyond the Default Plan |
|
| When a person dies intestate (without making and leaving a will), each state provides a default plan (usually known as the statute of descent and distribution) under with his or her net estate is disposed. When a person dies intestate, there is no adding of provisions beyond the default plan. The default plan is only the default plan and nothing more. This article discusses the disadvantages of descent and distribution related to the inability to add provisions beyond the default plan. More... |
|
|
| Precatory Language, Ademption, and Abatement |
|
| One of the main purposes for making and leaving a will is to guide the administration of the estate of the testator--the person who made the will. A will should be written in language that is clear and indisputable. Alas, the language in a will may be unclear or vague. This article discusses the will interpretation and construction issues of precatory language, ademption, and abatement. More... |
|
|
| Disposing Dead Bodies |
|
| The dead bodies of human beings are not property. The dead bodies of human beings are not disposed of by a state's statute of descent and distribution. If a person does not leave directions in a will or other document for the disposition of his or her dead body, his or her dead body is usually disposed of as provided by local custom. More... |
|
|
| Donating One's Body to Science |
|
| A dead human body is usually disposed of by burial or cremation. One alternative that benefits people outside of the funeral industry is to donate one's dead body to science. Donation to science (also know as donation to medical science) is turning over a dead body to doctors, medical students, and/or other scientists for use in their studies. The charitable goal is the advancement of science. More... |
|
|