Q: My husband passed away in June 2019. His cousin passed 27 hours prior and named him as a beneficiary of her trust.
My husband and I have pour over wills as part of our trust. What steps are needed to recieve his inheritance? Do I have to open a probate case as executor of his will? This inheritance will be over $150,000.00
A: Some Trusts and Wills provide that a beneficiary must survive the writer of the Trust or Will by a certain number of days to receive the inheritance. However, if the cousin's trust lacks such a provision, your husband's gift under the cousin's trust goes to his estate. The successor trustee of the cousin's trust should be able to give the inheritance w/o a probate proceeding to your husband's estate. Technically, this would then require a probate procedure to get the money to you or you and whoever else are beneficiaries of your husband's estate plans. Your husband's trust, designed to avoid probate, unfortunately, does not cover assets that come into his possession after his death. That is why you did both trusts and pour-over Wills. I know this sounds complicated. If your husband was a Nevada resident when he passed, I can explain this without a fee if you care to call.
A:
Firstly, sorry for your loss.
As the cousin named your husband as beneficiary then those funds would be distributed to your late husband's estate. You would then need to Probate your late husband's Will through a Summary Administration to have those funds transferred into your Trust.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
