Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Florida

Re: IRA beneficiary

A will does not determine the recipient of an IRA with the exception being if the IRA's beneficiary is "to the estate of the owner". Beneficiary designations are exactly that, they tell the company who is to receive the proceeds. The will covers assets that pass thru "the estate" of the deceased, ie assets that need to be retitled to get to the intended beneficiary. A living trust avoids this because the assets have already been titled in the name of the trust and are distributed pursuant to the trust document and not a court decree. So the will is your "ticket to probate court" basically. Without a will, a person dies intestate and any assets that pass thru the probate estate will go pursuant to state law. With a will, a person dies "testate" and the probate estate will pass pursuant to the will. Savings accounts and stock accounts (etc.) generally will flow thru the probate estate if no one elses name is on the account and if no "POD" or "pay on death" designation has been made. In short, there are many ways to pass on an estate and there are simple techniques to avoid probate, but the most popular way to do this is thru a revocable living trust. However, you should speak to an experienced estate planning attorneys to tell you about the pros and cons of any estate planning technique you employ including what a will does and does not cover. I hope this helps.