Wills and Trusts in Indiana
How Do Wills and Trusts Work?
Wills and trusts ensure that the assets of your Indiana estate become distributed the way you imagined after you passed away. While this may not be the most pleasant thing to think about, it’s necessary to prevent complications or create disputes among your loved ones. So how do wills and trusts work?
Well, while an estate planning attorney isn’t required to write a will or create a trust, you may find their advice invaluable to the process. Either document has to meet the criteria for the state, and a will and trust attorney can ensure that you’ve dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s.
Trust vs Will
Wills and trusts play a role in ensuring the distribution of your estate after you pass away, but they have different approaches and functions. How do wills and trusts work in Indiana? A will is a legally binding document that describes what assets you have, who you want them to go to, and how that should occur. A trust creates a financial relationship between parties that handles the transfer of savings, property, or investments. The two often work together as critical parts of your entire estate planning strategy.
How to Create a Will or Trust in Indiana
Identify Assets
The first step in creating a will or trust is taking a detailed inventory of your assets, including property, investment accounts, and any business interests. This process ensures a clear understanding of what needs to be distributed. Working with an experienced estate planning attorney can simplify this task, guiding you through each step. With a comprehensive plan in place, you can confidently outline your wishes and set clear goals for how your assets will be managed and distributed.
Choose the Distribution
While you want a clear explanation of how your assets should be distributed among loved ones, it’s also important to consider assets beyond your control. A life insurance policy or a 401k may have designated beneficiaries who are not mentioned in your documentation.
Choose the Executor of your Indiana Will or Trust
The executor of your will or trust takes on the legal responsibility to execute your wishes. While it’s a given that you want to choose someone you can trust, it’s worth considering your attorney or an accountant for the job. A reliable trust attorney or will attorney can better help you navigate this process, and inform your decisions.
Indiana law requires that a personal representative take due diligence after the opening of an estate. While this person tends to be a close family member, the court can appoint one in the absence of a petitioner.
Choose a Guardian
Unless you want the court to appoint a guardian, it’s best to choose one for your dependents. Then, name them as such in the will.
Sign with Witnesses
After you have reasonable confidence that everything is in order, it’s time to make the document official. To make the will or trust legal, you and witnesses should sign the document. An experienced estate planning attorney can better help you navigate this process, and ensure the validity of your will or trust.
Update and Create your Will or Trust as Necessary
You may feel locked into your will after all the preparation. But you don’t have to feel completely married to your decisions. If circumstances change in your life or you change your mind, don’t hesitate to make changes to ensure your final wishes are clear and carried out properly.
Revoking a will begins with destroying the old one according to Indiana law. The current options include the following:
- Destroying or mutilating the will yourself with the intent to revoke
- Asking another person to destroy or mutilate the document with the intent to revoke
- Creating a new will that nullifies the previous one
The Different Types of Wills in Indiana
Simple Will
As the name suggests, a simple will meets the basic requirements but it remains subject to probate after your death. This document is an essential outline of how you would like your assets distributed by an executor for designated beneficiaries, pets included. As always, consulting with a trust attorney is your best option when it comes to designing your estate plan.
Joint Will
A joint will is created by two individuals, usually a married couple, that details how assets are distributed upon one or both passing away. While this is a single document, legally it can be treated as two separate entities.
Living Will
It may sound obvious that a will is written while you’re alive. But, this type of legal document establishes directives to medical providers regarding your wishes for end-of-life care. If you are incapacitated and cannot express your desires, this tells doctors and nurses your preferences in advance. This type of will typically does not include beneficiaries after your death and serves this sole function.
Holographic Will
Whether it’s written on a napkin or a regular piece of paper, a holographic will is a handwritten-only document signed by the testator. Most states require witnesses to sign a testament to validate an individual’s intentions. However, these may be legally valid especially when created during emergencies.
Indiana law does not recognize the validity of a holographic will currently. Finalizing a will under the current probate code requires witnesses and signatures who sign in each others’ presence.
Pour-Over Will
A pour-over will is testamentary that creates a trust and specifies the property that will be transferred after someone passes away. This acts as a safety measure that can transfer assets to an account that might not have been transferred otherwise.
The Different Types of Trusts in Indiana
Irrevocable Trust
This type of trust cannot be changed or terminated without permission from the beneficiaries. This has the legal effect of transferring assets where the grantor gives up all rights of ownership. This can have significant tax advantages, but it can have its drawbacks depending on your circumstances.
Revocable Trust
This trust gives the flexibility necessary for the grantor to make modifications until they pass away. If you need the funds in a trust for living expenses while living, this can provide a solution. One that still distributes an estate as desired.
Family Trust
People choose to create this type of trust to care for their family members after they’re gone. This provides an opportunity for you to have peace of mind that children, siblings, or extended family members have access to the share of the assets you have designated.
Charitable Trust
If you wish to leave a philanthropic legacy behind while taking care of your family and loved ones, a charitable trust might be the right choice for you. Some individuals choose to leave behind ownership in a business, stocks, or real estate if they have the means to do so.
How to Avoid Probate in Indiana
States may have similarities in how they handle the distribution of assets that go to probate. But as always, the devil is in the details. However, in most states, probate is required. Unless an estate is particularly small, and doesn’t concern the transfer of real property. An experienced will and trust or estate planning attorney can better help you navigate this process.
For example, current Indiana law says that simple estates worth less than $50,000 only require an affidavit. A will and trust attorney may assist you with submitting this document to the court. But you may also wish to have their counsel for more complicated cases. Formal probate may involve appointing a personal representative to complete these types of tasks:
- Contacting creditors and next of kin about the opening of the estate
- Submitting payments for ongoing expenses, taxes, or other bills
- Accounting for the property in the estate
- Distributing real estate or personal property to the appropriate parties
Work with an Experienced Indiana Estate Planning Will and Trust Attorney
Planning for your eventual death is not a pleasant task. Along the way, you are bound to wonder how wills and trusts work in Indiana? How can I make this process easier?
It is tedious, but it’s crucial to ensure that your family and legacy are secured. The law does not require an individual to hire a trust attorney or will lawyer, but they can prove invaluable if they catch issues that could result in your estate going to probate. If you feel like you need help, it’s worth your time to consider hiring an experienced estate planning attorney. We can even help you connect with legal help across Indiana state lines.
Submit a request or call us today at (866)-345-6784 to speak to a local will and trust attorney!
About the Author
Aaron is a professional legal writer with a B.S. in English Education from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. He has written, published, and edited thousands of legal articles for RequestLegalHelp, which has connected over 5 million people to legal help in the United States.
With over five years of experience writing thousands of legal articles for law firms across the U.S. and Canada, Aaron specializes in covering federal, state, and city-level legal issues ranging from auto accidents to wrongful terminations. Contact Aaron at [email protected] for article suggestions, collaborations, or inquiries.
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