What Do You Mean She Did Not Survive? Survivorship in the World of Estate Planning
Without fail, every week or so a client will give me the look. Akin to Gary Coleman on Different Strokes, what I call "the Wathcha' Talkin' About Willis? face. You remember, this one: Behind the look is an air of confusion, annoyance and frustration. These are the type of conversations that place unfavorable adjectives in front of the title lawyer. Case in point: Client: My wife died on Sunday, her sister died Thursday, so my wife outlived her and is the beneficiary of the sister's IRA. Attorney: Well, your wife died after her sister, but she may not have actually survived her, it depends. Client: [intent pause, brow wrinkles, and they are clearly holding back the statement -- now I thought you were suppose to be smart, you went to law school, and now your tellin' me that my wife did not survive her sister, come on, pay attention] -- what? is the question they toss my way. Attorney: In the world of estate planning we have a concept called survivor...