Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: wills and trusts

A trust is different than a will, but a revocable living trust is generally used in place of a will. The trust would control only property that has been placed in the trust.

If the trust has been properly "funded" with the trust maker's assets, then the will would no longer control the disposition of those assets.

Most attorneys will also make a new will, called a "pour-over will," when they make the new trust. If such a will was made, then it probably revokes the old 1962 will, and distributes to the trust any assets not already in the trust.

To summarize: the 1994 trust probably supercedes the 1962 will. However, if one or more of the above steps were left out, the 1962 will may still be valid.

Re: wills and trusts

A trust controls the disposition of all the property which a deceased person conveyed or transferred to the trust. A will controls the disposition of property owned by the deceased person which is neither contained in the trust nor (generally) containing a beneficiary designation (such as life insurance, IRA's, etc.) However, although there is an older will, most attorneys will draft a new will when they draft a trust; there may well be a will dated 1994 which will supercede the will dated 1962. Yo may wish to consult an attorney to read the various documents and determine which document controls. Most of us do not charge a large fee for this type of brief consultation. (This statement does not constitute my representation of you, nor is it an attorney-client communication.)

Re: wills and trusts

FIRST IT DEPENDS ON WHETHER OR NOT THE DECEDENT HAS TRANSFERRED HIS ASSETS TO THE TRUST, IN OTHER WORDS, FUNDED THE TRUST. IN THAT CASE THE TRUST WILL CONTROL. IF NOT, THE WILL WILL CONTROL. IF YOUR FACTS ARE CORRECT THIS IS THE ANSWER. HOWEVER, MOST ATTORNEYS WILL WRITE A WILL WHEN THEY WRITE THE TRUST ENCOMPASSING THE TRUST WITHIN THE WILL.