{"id":1702,"date":"2023-03-21T09:16:08","date_gmt":"2023-03-21T09:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seniorsite.org\/resource\/?p=1702"},"modified":"2023-06-12T18:30:41","modified_gmt":"2023-06-12T18:30:41","slug":"the-reciprocal-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seniorsite.org\/resource\/the-reciprocal-will\/","title":{"rendered":"The &#8220;Reciprocal&#8221; Will"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">An introduction to reciprocal wills<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A\u00a0<em>reciprocal will<\/em>\u00a0is what most married couples first think of when they start talking about creating a will. With a\u00a0<em>reciprocal will<\/em>, each spouse&#8217;s Will is a &#8220;mirror image&#8221; of the other. If the combined estates of both spouses total under the federal maximum, this may be all you need.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This kind of Will provides as follows:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Naming of Executor &#8211; usually the spouse, but there should be an alternate, too.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Payment of debts and taxes.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Specific bequests of tangible property, e.g., &#8220;Little Bobbie gets my Beatles collection.&#8221; (What happens if the collection is sold before death? Does Bobbie get the cash equivalent instead? Generally not, under state law. But will Bobbie want to argue about it anyway?)&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><em>TIP: Avoid disputes by adding the simple words, &#8220;&#8230;&#8230;. if owned by me at my death.&#8221; Then, it is clear there is no bequest at all, unless the property is still owned by the Testator when he dies.<\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Disposition of the remainder (&#8220;residue&#8221;) of property.&nbsp;<br>This consists of everything that remains after steps 1 through 3, above.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Usually, people want it this way: &#8220;If I die first, everything goes to my spouse. If my spouse has already died, all to my descendants, in equal shares, per stirpes.&#8221; (Latin for, &#8220;If a child dies before the parent, that child&#8217;s children split the share.&#8221;) The Wills are mirror images of each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People often ask what happens if a beneficiary of a specific sum or item under their Will dies before they do. It is difficult to give a short, general answer &#8211; but the situation can lead to a dispute unless the Testator (Will maker) plans for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The best solution to this potential problem is simply for the Will maker to name a contingent beneficiary in case the primary beneficiary does not survive the Will maker.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alternatively, the Testator can specify that if a beneficiary fails to survive, his\/her share or item is to be included and distributed with the &#8220;residue&#8221; of the estate.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An introduction to reciprocal wills A\u00a0reciprocal will\u00a0is what most married couples first think of when they start talking about creating a will. With a\u00a0reciprocal will, each spouse&#8217;s Will is a &#8220;mirror image&#8221; of the other. If the combined estates of both spouses total under the federal maximum, this may be all you need.\u00a0 This kind&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/seniorsite.org\/resource\/the-reciprocal-will\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The &#8220;Reciprocal&#8221; Will<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1703,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-caregiver","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The &quot;Reciprocal&quot; Will - Resource for Seniors and Caregivers | SeniorSite<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/seniorsite.org\/resource\/the-reciprocal-will\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The &quot;Reciprocal&quot; Will - Resource for Seniors and Caregivers | SeniorSite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An introduction to reciprocal wills A\u00a0reciprocal will\u00a0is what most married couples first think of when they start talking about creating a will. 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