Does my father need a will?

michaelpd

New Member
Jurisdiction
Florida
My father has begun the process of estate planning for after he has passed. In an effort to avoid probate, he added my name to his house in FL (primary residence) about 4 years ago, and is planning on adding my name to his house in MA (secondary home where I currently live with my family) as a JTROS. He is also planning on adding my name to his car and to his bank accounts/life insurance/401k's as either a joint account holder or a beneficiary.

His main concern is that I have an estranged brother who he feels might challenge a will, if one exists. The question remains, should he have a will drafted that specifies that I am to inherit his estate 100% and name my brother as a child who is entitled to 0% (to avoid my brother saying that he was erroneously left out), or does that just provide said brother with grounds to contest? I've seen that FL has no estate or inheritance tax, and MA has estate tax on estates valued at $1 million or more (his estate is valued less than this). By adding my name to all real property and assets, am I looking at any tax implications beyond a gift tax on his 1/2 of the MA house upon sale?

I know this was fairly long winded, so thank you for your advice in advance!
 
does that just provide said brother with grounds to contest?


Your father needs to discuss all of HIS concerns with an estate attorney in the county or the state where he resides.

Soliciting FREE information regarding an estate valued at $1,000,000 (or more) is pound wise, penny foolish.

On a final thought, a will means nothing to a dead person.

A dead person will most assuredly be able to avoid many things, such as probate, taxes, or a million other daily annoyances; as she/he lies in eternal rest.

Probate is an annoyance suffered by the living, and a potential tax burden to the estate.

Which is why people with significant assets discuss estate planning with competent, licensed, trusted professionals.

You might suggest to your father to discuss is wishes with an estate attorney, and endeavor to discover how he wishes to dispose of his assets.

Many of us old timers hang on our stuff.

My wife holds that view, on the other hand, I gifted most of my estate to the people I wished it to pass 15 years ago.

The remainder was placed into a revocable trust, which I review annually.

I wish your dad well as he determines how best to proceed.
 
In an effort to avoid probate, he added my name to his house in FL (primary residence) about 4 years ago, and is planning on adding my name to his house in MA (secondary home where I currently live with my family) as a JTROS.

Did he file appropriate gift tax returns with the IRS?

He is also planning on adding my name to his car and to his bank accounts/life insurance/401k's as either a joint account holder or a beneficiary.

More potential gift tax issues.

His main concern is that I have an estranged brother who he feels might challenge a will, if one exists.

So...even though he doesn't yet have a will, he thinks your brother might "challenge" the will if he creates one? On what grounds? I suspect that your father (and maybe you as well) doesn't understand what it means to challenge a will. The most important thing to know is that your brother being dissatisfied with what your father's will says (or with not being left anything) is not a valid legal basis to challenge a will.

should he have a will drafted that specifies that I am to inherit his estate 100% and name my brother as a child who is entitled to 0% (to avoid my brother saying that he was erroneously left out), or does that just provide said brother with grounds to contest?

As noted above, that would not "provide [your] brother with grounds to contest." Determining whether your father "should have a will drafted" would require knowing all details about his fiances, which we obviously don't. Exactly what your father's will says is obviously entirely up to him and not your concern. If he thinks he might want a will, he should consult with a local estate planning attorney.

By adding my name to all real property and assets, am I looking at any tax implications beyond a gift tax on his 1/2 of the MA house upon sale?

It's not clear that you would have any tax obligations as a result of the transactions mentioned. Based on the info provided, you probably don't. Obviously, consulting with a tax advisor or tax attorney would be the best way to determine that.

I know this was fairly long winded, so thank you for your advice in advance!

I've been posting on legal message boards for nearly 20 years. It always seems to be the folks who write concisely and clearly who make comments like this. Rarely do the folks who write long-winded and/or unintelligible posts do so. :)
 
Adding your name to property does mean that you inherit that property. It means that you own 1/2 the property and any other heirs would be entitled to inherit their share of the other half. If he names you and you only as the beneficiary of life insurance and 401k then you and you only are entitled to those things. Yes yes yes your father needs to have a will. If he doesn't have a will then the heirs will be determined by state law.
 
Adding your name to property does mean that you inherit that property. It means that you own 1/2 the property and any other heirs would be entitled to inherit their share of the other half.

I don't see anywhere in the original post where the OP used the word "inherit" in connection with the real property. The OP also mentioned that his/her father was "planning on adding [the OP's] name to [the title for] his house in MA . . . as a JTROS." "JTROS" means joint tenancy (with the) right of survivorship. Where this exists, when the first joint owner dies, his/her interest in the property passes to the other joint owner(s) by operation of law. It is not part of the deceased joint owner's estate and is not subject to the terms of the deceased's will or the applicable intestate law.

Yes yes yes your father needs to have a will. If he doesn't have a will then the heirs will be determined by state law.

A will is nothing more than an estate planning tool, and whether any given individual needs a will depends on what other estate planning has been done and what assets the individual owns. If all of the OP's father's substantial assets are owned in joint tenancy or have beneficiary designations, then there's probably no real need for a will (unless the father wants to prevent the estranged brother from inheriting half of his underwear and socks and other personal effects. Of course, if the father has assets of substantial pecuniary or emotional value that can't be titled in joint tenancy or have beneficiary designations, then a will would be a good idea (although stuff like that can be given away during the father's lifetime).
 
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