Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Indiana

Valid Will Substitutes

For the actual legal answer for your state, you will need to contact an IN lawyer.

Will Substitutes can cause problems. One way, which you do not want, is for her to simply designate the items in her will to you. I understand that is not your requested option.

A more difficult one to explain in this small space is a trust created in the will, but maintained offsite. For example, the will says that a trust exists and that the property in the trust is to pass according to the trust instrument. There the will does not disclose what property or where it goes and some lawyer or bank officer has the trust and its terms which are secret. If the terms of the trust so provide, you mother has theuse of the personal property during her lifetime and at her death, pursuant to the terms of the trust the "items" pass to you by trust not will. Get a probate lawyer in IN to explain the nitty-gritty of this to you. It is a very valid trick where lots of money is involved and you want it to pass outside of the terms of the will. It also allows flexiblity to change the terms of the trust by simply printing a change on a word processor, rather than have the will reexecuted and reexcuted every time the attorney needs to make a change.

It is is real property, you can create a deed that says Joint Tenants with right of suviorship and then it will be yours at her death. This could be done with personal property, but it is generally not done -- mostly because title is ususally not written down to personal property -- except vehicles.

If it is $, you can set up a joint bank account with right of survivorship. At her death, the money passes to you outside of the will. Some states allow this trick with a safe deposit box and some states require an inventory at death. I do not know what IN requires.

There is another really unacceptable method, but it will work. In the will state that personal property found on Exhibit A in my safe deposit box will pass to those individual s on Exhibit A and the personal property listed etc to those individuals. Then Exhibit A may be changed from time to time without reexecuting the will. However, in GA we are requirred to file same with the probate, thus, no secrecy. However, IN's requirements are unknown to me.

Go read IN probate code, it may shed some light on your question.

Good Luck

Leaving property using something other than a will

Check your state law for these options:

Some states allow "incorporation by reference," where the will can refer to another document which lists the items that go to you.

The items could be transferred to a trust whose terms would specify that the items go to you at your mother's death.

If the property can be held in joint tenancy, this is an option. However, you'll want to check the capital gains tax results before you do this.

Most states allow incorporation by reference, but not all.

Where in IN are you and your mother? If near to Evansville, I have one or two great referrals to give to you. I'd like to call them first, though.Let me know.

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