15 Dispositive Will Clauses (19 Pages)

PLEASE NOTE: The price of ALL (15) Dispositive Will Clauses To Address 6 Key Drafting Issues is just $129.

Alternatively, the Will Clause(s) for each drafting issue may be purchased individually for $19 per issue.

To do so, please click "Will/Trust Clauses" category on the homepage and scroll down to the below-titled issue(s) you want.

These Useful Dispositive Will Clauses with Accompanying Practical Explanations To Address Key Will Drafting Issues Include:

1. Clauses To Protect the Estate Plan With Appropriate Simultaneous Death Clauses - 4 Clauses

-   Simple statement directing that the spouse with the fewer assets be deemed the survivor

-   To be included in the Will of the spouse with the larger share of assets: identifies the spouse with the fewer assets and directs that such spouse to be deemed the survivor: 

-   To be included in the Will of the spouse with the smaller share of assets: identifies the spouse with the larger share of assets and directs that spouse to be deemed to predecease the spouse with the lesser share of assets

-   Where appropriate, to be included in the Wills of both spouses: assumes that the relative shares of assets of the spouses are roughly equal and does not create a presumptive survivor

2. Concerns About Beneficiaries Behavior Will Clause - 1 Clause
-  Suspension and Resumption of Payments to a Beneficiary Exhibiting Bad Behavior.

3. Discretionary Withdrawals by Beneficiaries Will Clause - 1 Clause
-  “Five and Five” Withdrawal Power of a Beneficiary. 

4. Incremental Distributions to Beneficiaries Will Clauses - 2 Clauses

-  Distribution Plan for Beneficiaries in Two Increments

-  Distribution Plan for Beneficiaries in Three Increments

5. Marital Deduction Provisions Will Clauses - 3 Clauses

-  Marital Share Outright to Surviving Spouse

-  Marital Share Using General Power of Appointment Trust

-  Marital Share Using Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trust (QTIP Trust)

6. Tangible Personal Property Will Clauses - 4 Clauses

-  Personal Property to Spouse, Then to Children – No List Provided

-  List Reference; Balance to Spouse, Then to Children

-  Selection of Personal Property Assets by Random Drawing

-  Sell all of the Personal Property.

Perhaps the fondest wish of a drafter of Wills would be that “one size could fit all”. Wouldn’t it be an easy practice if every client presented a standard pattern that would permit a very standard form to be adequate and appropriate for each client’s needs?

Of course, that is not the case. Instead, each client seems to present some special problem, some unusual circumstance, some particular need, request, or demand that requires that the person preparing that client’s documents take steps that deviate from the standard form and “usual” document. This is not to suggest that every document must be viewed as entirely original, unique and without any prior precedent. That also is not the case. Many people do present similar circumstances so that standard starting forms are entirely appropriate. The skill of the good draftsman is to recognize when a few special provisions are called for, and to readily and confidently insert those provisions into the documents being prepared for a client.

The purpose of the Dispositive Will Clauses is to address a wide variety of circumstances that may arise in the preparation of a Will for a client. We are not asserting that every client needs every issue we are raising to be addressed and included in his or her Will. Our goal is to provide the users of this service with a list of solutions and sample clauses for the drafting issues and problems that they may encounter that is easy to understand and access. If we are able to provide reliable drafting solutions to the daily concerns the drafters of wills encounter, we will have accomplished our objectives.

Author:
Steven G. Siegel is president of The Siegel Group, a Morristown, New Jersey - based national consulting firm specializing in tax consulting, estate planning and advising family business owners and entrepreneurs. Mr. Siegel holds a BS from Georgetown University, a JD from Harvard Law School and an LLM in Taxation from New York University.

He is the author of several books, including: Planning for An Aging Population; Business Entities: Start to Finish; Taxation of Divorce and Separation; Income Taxation of Estates and Trusts, Preparing the Audit-Proof Federal Estate Tax Return, Putting It Together: Planning Estates for $5 million and Less, Family Business Succession Planning, Business Acquisitions: Representing Buyers and Sellers in the Sale of a Business; Dynasty Trusts; Planning with Intentionally-Defective Grantor Trusts; The Federal Gift Tax: A Comprehensive Analysis; Charitable Remainder Trusts, Grantor Trust Planning: QPRTs, GRATs and SCINs, The Estate Planning Course, The Retirement Planning Course, Retirement Distributions: Estate and Tax Planning Strategies; The Estate Administration Course, Tax Strategies for Closely-Held Businesses, and Tort Litigation Settlements: Tax and Financial Issues.

Mr. Siegel has lectured extensively throughout the United States on tax, business and estate planning topics on behalf of numerous organizations, including National Law Foundation, AICPA, CCH, National Tax Institute, National Society of Accountants, and many others.  He has served as an adjunct professor of law at Seton Hall and Rutgers University law schools.

The Siegel Group provides consulting services to accountants, attorneys, financial planners and life insurance professionals to assist them with the tax, estate and business planning and compliance issues confronting their clients. Based in Morristown, New Jersey, the Group has provided services throughout the United States. The Siegel Group does not sell any products. It is an entirely fee-based organization.
Contact the Siegel Group through its president, Steven G. Siegel, e-mail: [email protected].