USA – FLORIDA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Jennifer Jordan McCall, Jennifer Altman and Christine Tsai, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Will and revocable trust estate planning documents
This highlights the importance of ensuring that one’s clients have their wills and trusts up to date and that the originals are carefully safeguarded in a vault at the lawyer’s office. This can alleviate uncertainty as to what their wishes actually are when they die, and can mitigate the possibility of foul play if documents that control a vast amount of wealth are neither safe - guarded nor certain to be valid.
In another recent California case, a very wealthy cli - ent lived alone. While he had attempted to create a will with his estate planning attorney, he did not com - plete the process. He died without any clear record of which estate planning documents he intended to use to control his vast estate. Litigation arose among the intestate heirs who thought that he had died intestate and other beneficiaries who produced a document which they asserted was a hand-written – or holo - graphic – will. Without adequate records as to whether that holographic will was valid, and without the client having completed his official estate planning docu - ments, the case was poised for extended litigation. Fortunately, the parties reached a settlement, avoid - ing years of potential protracted and expensive litiga - tion. In this case, the impact of taxes on the various beneficiaries’ interests was a key tool in reaching a settlement.
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