Visalia, CA Estate Planning Blog

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

What happens if you are bequeathed a car that no longer exists?

Ghost Inheritance: The ABCs of Ademption

If you’re involved in settling a loved one’s estate, you may come across the curious word “ademption”. Ademption describes what happens when something designated in a will no longer exists. Say, for example, your uncle dies and leaves for you in his will an old-school Harley Davidson motorcycle. However, if your uncle crashed the motorcycle two years before the will was probated and there’s nothing to leave, then that gift would be considered adeemed and you would receive nothing. This is why certain wills include language that says, “if owned by me at my death.”

However, it is important to realize that certain items cannot be adeemed. For instance, money. If your uncle died and left $7,000 for you in his will, but left a zero dollar balance in his accounts, your gift of cash would not be adeemed. Instead, the estate would be responsible for satisfying that gift, say for example, through the sale of the house or other such property.

There are exceptions to ademption, however. If the property leaves the estate after the person who wrote the will has been declared incompetent, ademption is waived.  Other states make exceptions for cases where interest in a corporation that no longer exists because the shares were exchanged with that of an acquiring company. Needless to say, ademption and its exceptions are a complicated part of probating an estate, so please make sure so consult with a trusted estate planning attorney to make sure you and your inheritance are taken care of.
 


Archived Posts

2015
2014
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


Located in Visalia CA, Joan A. Watters, Esq. Attorney at Law assists clients throughout the Central Valley of California with various estate planning and elder law. Areas include but are not limited to Visalia, Exeter, Tulare, Hanford, Bakersfield, Lemoore, Three Rivers; and the surrounding counties of Tulare, Kings, and Kern.



© 2024 Joan A. Watters, Esq., Attorney at Law | Disclaimer
PO Box 547, Visalia, CA 93279-0547
| Phone: 559-635-1775 | 559 786-0390

Estate Planning | Estate Planning with Wills | Trusts & Estate Planning | Estate Planning/Non-Traditional Families | Advanced Estate Planning | Planning for Children | Family Limited Partnerships | Special Needs Planning | Guardianships | Asset Protection | Probate / Estate Administration | Business Succession Planning | Elder Law | Fees

FacebookLinked-In CompanyYouTube

-
-