Read or Download 8 Ways to Avoid Probate, 5th edition 2004 PDF

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Additional info for 8 Ways to Avoid Probate, 5th edition 2004

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But that’s not the way it works. All the beneficiaries you name will share the money in the account. If one of the beneficiaries dies before you do, all the money will go to the surviving beneficiaries. So if you leave an account to your three children, and one of them dies before you do, the other two will inherit the funds. Depending on your family situation, this result may be fine with you—or it may not. D. payees after a beneficiary dies. D. beneficiaries of her bank account. Eric dies before Miranda does, leaving two children of his own.

If the account was a joint account to begin with, the bank will need to see the death certificates of all the original owners. The bank records will show that the beneficiary is entitled to whatever money is in the account. State laws authorize banks to release the money in payable-on-death accounts when they’re shown this proof of the account holder’s death; they don’t need probate court approval. Legally, the money automatically belongs to the beneficiaries when the original account owner dies.

That means at income tax time, you can reduce your taxable income by the amount of your contribution. Second, the income and profits that come from investing the money you save generally aren’t taxed now, either. All of it can be reinvested and start earning income itself. Of course, nothing good lasts forever. Eventually, you must start making withdrawals, and when you do, the money you take out will be subject to income tax (unless some of your contributions were not taxdeductible). By then, however, presumably you’ll be retired and in a lower tax bracket.

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