Debts and Funeral Costs
Debts and Funeral Costs
Debts and Funeral Costs
When death comes, your assets will be subject to the debts, taxes, charges, and claims which are your legal obligations. This is true whether or not you have made a WILL. You may dispose by gift or WILL of only those assets which are not needed to meet your obligations. If your net estate, after pay ment of taxes, expenses and debts, is insufficient to pay the gifts or bequests hi full, your estate will be insolvent and your legatees will not receive their legacies.
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On the other hand, if the sum total of the legacies and gifts in your WILL plus the sum total of your debts, obligations, and taxes exceed the total of your estate, but the estate is not insolvent, an "abatement" will occur, and legacies and gifts will be reduced accordingly and will be distributed after the payment of all obligations. The law of abatement and contribution as applied to legacies rests on your intention as a testator, either expressed, implied, or presumed. If you have set forth your intention in your WILL, it will control, subject to your widow's or your husband's right of election. The determination of the possible insolvency of your estate may be made only after your executor or administrator has taken possession of all of your property and only after all debts and claims have been presented. In some states there is a separate proceeding to determine the issue of insolvency of the estate, usually initiated by your executor and followed by the appointment of a commissioner. In other states, the court determines the issue directly and without the intercession or referral of the case to commissioners. In any event, your executor (or your administrator if you die without a WILL) will hold your property in trust for your creditors. He will have the power and indeed, the obligation, to pay your funeral expenses, your debts, and the expenses of administration; and this power will be conferred on him evenif you do not include a specific clause authorizing him to pay debts. Ordinarily, however, you will include such a clause in your WILL and he himself will make a preliminary determination of whether any claim presented is "just" or without merit. He may either notify the creditor that he rejects the claim, or he may petition the court and ask the court to determine which claims are valid and which are invalid. A creditor may also ask the court to rule on the validity of his claim.
Ordinarily, you may not prefer one creditor over another, although the laws of your own state will determine priority among creditors. While the laws are not uniform, the general pattern requires the allowance to the widow to be paid first, followed by the funeral expenses and expenses of the last illness, and then taxes due to the United States. The "widow's allowance" referred to is not her distributive share, but her exemption, and usually is comparatively small. Claims of the United States are given a priority over other debts, but not over funeral expenses. The ordinary creditor must file a claim, but the United States is entitled to a preference even though no claim is filed on behalf of the United States within the statutory period. After United States taxes, state taxes receive a priority and then taxes of political subdivisions of the state, followed by debts owed by the testator in a fiduciary capacity, judgments rendered against the testator in his lifetime, and wages. Where your property is encumbered by a lien, the lien must be discharged before the property may be applied to the payment of any debt or obligation, even an obligation of the United States. If there is a creditor who stands in a preferred relationship or whom you want to see paid in full, you may consider the procedure of giving him a legacy, but conditioning the legacy upon the nonpayment of your debt to him. If you have paid the debt before your death, you may add a codicil revoking the legacy. If you knew that a claim was to be asserted against your estate, and you considered the claim to be entirely unjustified, you might have included in your WILL a clause instructing your executor to resist the claim.
Perhaps it was the result of an accident, or the result of a business deal in which you felt no moral obligationor perhaps it was a situation where you hadrepaid the money but had lost the evidence of payment, and the creditor was trying to make you pay twice. Under such circumstances, you inserted a clause in your WILL stating: "I direct my executor to reject any claim submitted to my executor or made against my estate on behalf of Putney West and I direct my executor not to settle or adjust any such claim and to make payment only after a specific directive by an appropriate court." Such a provision may result in saving your estate money; it may also result in costing money, since Mr. West may be just as stubborn as you are, and may take your estate to court to enforce his claim. However, while you will not be present to testify in opposi tion to the claim, Mr. West's lips may well be sealed to a large extent by the "Dead Man's Statute," which prohibits a person from testifying to any transaction with a decedent where the person testifying has a monetary interest in the outcome of the lawsuit. You may regulate the amount of expenses to be incurred for your funeral. In this connection, be sure your WILL is readily accessible and that it can be found by the persons who will make your funeral arrangements. A copy should be kept available with your executor or with the undertaker so there will be no delay in arranging for your funeral. If you wish to be cremated, be sure that specific instructions are prepared by you and that they are left where they can be found. The same applies if you want to donate your body or part of your body for medical research. Be specific if you want to limit the amount to be spent on your funeral. Ordinarily, your executor will be permitted to spend an amount commensurate with the size of your estate and the number of claims filed against your estate. If he spends more, he may be surcharged and directed to reimburse the estate. If you are a retired member of the Armed Forces of the United States, or have served in the Armed Forces, you may provide: "I hereby direct that I'be buried in the Pinelawn National Cemetery, New York, in accordance with Army regulations."
You should guard against the contingency that the Pine-lawn National Cemetery may be closed for further burials and should employ the words: "Pinelawn National Cemetery or any other appropriate National cemetery . . ." The samerecaution should be taken with respect to any named cemetery. If you want any specific religious rites or any specific mili tary honors, include such a statement in your WILL or burial instructions and be sure to tell the persons who are responsible for the arrangements. Visiting Your Country of Origin Mussoorie Perfect Tourist Destination Watching Football Live Online Free Online Birthday Flower Delivery- Easy Way To Go Aspects To Mull Over When Choosing A Web Design Company Stunning Wedding Invitation Ideas The Online Deals From Karmaloop Codes Successful Call Center Industry In The Global Market How Facial Hyperhidrosis Affects People Choose Custom Dovetail Drawers In Lots Of Styles Bangalore As Next Property Hub Says Global Associations Should You Really Eat More To Lose Weight? Style statement-redefine the way you look