Handling Contingencies In Your Will

When we create a will, we often think only of the present—what life is like at the moment that we’re creating the will. But life changes fast, and over time, life can change often. If you are creating a will when you are younger (as you should do), there may be a lot of time, and a lot of changes that happen, between the time you create the will, and by the time the will comes into effect.

That’s why an effective will isn’t just about saying who gets what. It’s also planning on contingencies. Contingencies are “what if” scenarios, and account for possibilities that may not exist at the time the will is being created.

Contingent Beneficiaries

One common contingency is the existence of a beneficiary. When our beneficiaries are younger, we may not account for the real possibility that they could pass away before you do. And if the will leaves them and only them property, that property will have nowhere to go if the beneficiary predeceases you.

It is a good practice to have “backup beneficiaries” for every beneficiary in your estate plan, so that you don’t have unspoken for property hanging out there, should a beneficiary predecease you.

Property Doesn’t Exist

Property itself listed in your will may not exist either. If you leave a pet to someone, that pet may pass before the will comes into effect. A business may no longer be in business by the time the will comes into effect.

The nonexistence of an asset won’t mean the will is invalid. It just means that whoever was supposed to get the now-non-existent item in the will, would be left with nothing. And if that is an important person, like a child or parent or relative—that can create hostility, will challenges, or a beloved beneficiary being left with nothing, when that wasn’t your intention.

Contingencies

You can condition what you leave to people in a will, on a contingency. So, for example, you can leave money to your sister, if she has a child by the time you pass, but if she does not, then the money will go to your brother. Any type of condition or contingency—reaching a certain age or accomplishing a life milestone, can be a condition written into the will.

Unknown Assets

Remember that by the time your will comes into effect, you may have assets that you don’t have now. You can leave “classes of assets” to people in a will, on the contingency that those assets may exist when the will comes into effect.

So, for example, you could leave “any and all proceeds to any lawsuits that may be pending” to someone, or “any and all stocks and mutual funds that I may own,” to someone. This takes some planning, because if you have none of these future, contingent assets when you pass, whomever was supposed to get them, would be left with nothing unless you provide for them in other ways in your will.

Wills aren’t as easy as people think they are. Do yours the right way. Call the Torrance probate will and estate attorneys at Samuel Ford Law today.