Everyone should understand why wills are written as they are

There are many wealthy residents in Melbourne, Florida. Some are attracted by resort-quality living, and others by a booming business climate. All of them have money and property to leave to others in their wills. However, sometimes when those wills are read, they are not as they were expected to be, which is why potential beneficiaries should be prepared for the range of possibilities.

Just like in movies, relatives who barely kept in touch with a great-aunt or great-uncle, yet expected to profit from their passing, find themselves disappointed when the money and the property is left to charity or to a caregiver. Sometimes these cases can result in trust litigation.

One woman, who passed away at the age of 104, had accumulated a fortune of approximately half a billion dollars. Much of it was left to charity, with tens of millions of dollars going to her longtime caregiver. Legally, the woman had every right to do that, bequeathing her fortune to those she cared about and to someone she believed cared about her.

Often, when wealthy individuals do leave their fortunes to family members, they do so in the form of a trust. This is done to structure disbursements and make sure that feckless relations don’t squander the money in unseemly ways. In view of that, the establishment of trusts is a caring act, as trusts ensure that beneficiaries will have the money they need to comfortably cover their bills over a long period of time.

Trusts can be structured to make sure that beneficiaries don’t get too opulent of a lifestyle handed to them. For example, they may be able to get a pleasant four-bedroom house but if they want a mansion, they’ll need to work for it. This approach has famously been used by rich people who want to pass down their own work ethic, and has been dramatized in movies like The Ultimate Gift. Still, if beneficiaries object to the terms of their trust, they may dispute them in court.