Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
There are some annuities that my mom took out that we are ready to cash in. Both my parents have passed away. My dad was actually the beneficiary of the annuities and passed away before my mother.
They left a trust plus a last will and testament. One of the paragraphs in the last will says:
I direct that all such residue shall be added to and commingled with the trust property of such living trust and shall be held, administered, and distributed under the terms and provisions of said instrument....."
Does this mean the annuities should simply be put into the trust?
Who and how does the will get interpreted in regards to things that were not part of the trust?
Thanks so much. These things are so confusing. And I would sure like to save the money and time to pay an attorney.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Generally speaking annuities have beneficiary designations that address these issues. If you don't have a copy of the policy designations you can contact the annuity company and they will help you. If there is no designation other than your parents, you will have to look to their estate plan. From the little that you have said, it looks like everything is to go into their trust but there is lots of missing information so one can't be sure.
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Alas, it depends. If you and your siblings were named as alternative beneficiaries to the annuity, you can collect the proceeds without involving the trust. If there is no living beneficiary, either your mother's or your father's estate might need to be administered through a probate to transfer the funds to the trustee. Or s/he might be able to collect them with a small estate affidavit (Probate Code Section 13100) if the dod value of the annuities (plus any other assets not titled in the trust or having valid beneficiary designations) is under $100,000, and then distribute to the trust beneficiaries.
You should not get an attorney. By not getting an attorney, you could save a couple of hundred dollars. Of course, you will probably lose hundreds of thousands in the long run, by doing it yourself and listening to sea lawyers and getting your legal research from the internet, but at least you saved money by not paying that attorney a couple hundred dollars.