[FORM OF WILL] [MARRIED, WITH MINOR CHILD, NON-TAX SENSITIVE]
WILL OF [NAME OF TESTATOR]
I, ______________, declare this to be my last will and testament (my “Will”):
ARTICLE I. INTRODUCTION A. Revocation of Prior Wills I revoke all of my prior Wills and Codicils. B. Declaration Regarding Relatives I am married to ______________ ("my wife"). We have [NUMBER] children: __________________ and __________________. Such children and any child of mine born or legally adopted after the date of this Will are called "my children." C. Disposition I intend by this will to dispose of all property which I may be entitled to dispose of by Will, including all of my separate property, if any, and my share of the community property of my wife and myself, if any. Except as otherwise
expressly provided, I do not intend to exercise any power of appointment, which may be vested in me at the time of my death. In addition, I have not entered into a contract to make a Will nor a contract to refrain from revoking my Will. I have intentionally omitted to provide for any of my heirs not specifically mentioned in this Will or in any Codicil to it.
ARTICLE II. SPECIFIC BEQUESTS A. Tangible Personal Property
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I give all automobiles, works of art, household furniture and furnishings, household equipment and appliances, silverware, jewelry, clothing and personal effects ("Tangible Personal Property") to my wife. If my wife shall predecease me, I give such property in equal shares to my children living on the date of my death. If any child shall be a minor at the time of distribution of such property, the minor's share of such property shall be distributed for his or her account to the guardian of his or her person or to the other adult with whom such minor shall reside. B. Failure to Survive - Bequests Lapse If any person named or described in this Article shall predecease me, all bequests to or for the benefit of such person shall lapse and all property so bequeathed shall be disposed of as part of the residue of my estate, except to the extent expressly provided to the contrary in this Will.
ARTICLE III. DISPOSITION OF RESIDUARY ESTATE I give the residue of my estate, real and personal, wherever situated, including all failed and lapsed gifts, to my wife. If my wife shall predecease me, I give such residue, called the "trust estate," to the Trustees, in trust, to manage and distribute as hereinafter provided. [OPTION A – ONE SEPARATE TRUST ESTABLISHED FOR EACH CHILD] A. Division of Trust Estate Into Separate Trusts Upon the entry of any decree of distribution establishing the trusts created in this Article, the Trustees shall divide the trust estate into separate, equal trusts as follows: i. One trust for each child of mine living at the time of my death, to
be managed and distributed as hereinafter provided.
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ii.
One trust collectively for the then living issue of each deceased
child, which trust shall be distributed to such issue, upon the principle of representation. [OPTION B – POT TRUST IS ESTABLISHED WHICH KEEPS THE PROPERTY TOGETHER UNTIL A CERTAIN TIME IN THE FUTURE WHEN IT IS DISTRIBUTED] B. Distribution of Trust Estate Upon the entry of any decree of distribution establishing the trust estate, income from the trust estate shall be added to and become principal, and the Trustees shall pay to or apply for the benefit of my issue living from time to time, or any one or more of them, such sums and in such proportion as the Trustees, in their discretion, determine to be necessary from time to time for their respective support, health or education. In no event shall the Trustees be subject to any obligation, liability or surcharge on account of making distributions from the trust estate to differing beneficiaries in differing amounts, or for the extent to which or the manner in which any such action was taken in good faith. Any payment or application of benefits pursuant to this paragraph shall be charged against the trust estate as a whole rather than against the ultimate share of a beneficiary to whom or for whose benefit the distribution is made. [CHOOSE OPTION A – DISTRUBUTE OUTRIGHT] i. When all of my children shall attain the age of _____________
years or shall die, the trust estate shall be distributed to my then living issue, upon the principle of representation. [OR CHOOSE OPTION B – DISTRIBUTE INTO SEPARATE TRUSTS TO HAVE MORE CONTROL OF TRUST PROPERTY] ii. When all of my children shall attain the age of _____________
years or shall die, the trust estate shall be divided into separate, equal
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trusts as follows: One trust for each then living child of mine, and one trust collectively for the then living issue of each deceased child. C. Distribution of Child's Trust [CHOOSE OPTION A – TREATMENT OF TRUST INCOME] i. The net income of a child's trust shall be distributed to or applied for the benefit of the child in monthly or other convenient installments. [OR CHOOSE OPTION B - TREATMENT OF TRUST INCOME ] ii. Income of a child's trust shall be added to and become principal,
and the Trustees shall distribute to or apply for the benefit of the child such sums as the Trustees, in their discretion, determine to be necessary from time to time for the child's support, health or education, until the child shall attain the age of ____________ years. From and after such time as the child shall attain the age of _____________ years, the net income of the trust shall be distributed or applied for the benefit of the child in monthly or other convenient installments. [CHOOSE OPTION A – TREATMENT OF PRINCIPLE] iii. One-half of the trust shall be distributed to the child when the child
shall attain the age of __________ years, and the remainder thereof shall be distributed to the child when the child shall attain the age of _____________ years. [OR CHOOSE OPTION B – TREATMENT OF PRINCIPLE] iv. One-third of such trust shall be distributed to the child when the
child shall attain the age of ____________ years, one-half of the remainder of the trust shall be distributed to the child when the child shall attain the age of __________ years, and the remainder thereof shall be distributed to the child when the child shall attain the age of ___________ years.
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D.
Distribution After Death of Child Upon a child's death, the trust shall be distributed to the child's then living issue, upon the principle of representation.
E.
Cross Remainder Provision i. Except to the extent expressly provided to the contrary in any other
provision of this Will, if any beneficiary for whom a trust has been established hereunder (or the last survivor of any group of beneficiaries for whom a single trust has been established) shall die before becoming entitled to receive distribution of his entire trust and shall leave no issue surviving him, then upon his death, such trust shall be distributed in equal shares to his brothers and sisters, excluding each brother or sister theretofore deceased leaving no issue then living, but including, upon the principle of representation, the then living issue of any such deceased brother or sister. If the beneficiary shall leave no brothers or sisters or any of their issue surviving him, his trust shall be distributed to my then living issue, upon the principle of representation. ii. If a trust shall exist under this Will for any person entitled to
receive a distribution pursuant to this paragraph, the property which otherwise would be distributed to such person shall instead be added to the trust held for his benefit, and shall be administered and distributed as a part thereof. F. Power of Invasion During the life of any trust for the benefit of my issue created under this Will, the Trustees shall distribute to or apply for the benefit of any beneficiary then entitled to receive the net income of such trust such sums from the principal of such beneficiary's trust as the Trustees, in their discretion, determine to be necessary from time to time for the beneficiary's reasonable support, health or education.
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G.
Maximum Duration of Trust i. Unless terminated at an earlier date under any other provision of
this Will, all trusts created under this Will shall terminate one day prior to the twenty-first anniversary of the death of the last survivor of me and my wife's grandparents' issue living on the date of my death. ii. Upon such termination, each such trust shall be distributed to the
persons then entitled to the income thereof or, if there are none, to the persons then entitled to distributions therefrom in the discretion of the Trustees as follows: (a) If all such persons shall be the issue of the same parent of
any person named or described in this Will, such trust shall be distributed to such issue, upon the principle of representation. (b) If section (a) shall not apply, such trust shall be distributed
to such persons and in such shares as determined by the Trustees, in their discretion, taking into account the terms of this Will. iii. Any trust created through the exercise of a power of appointment
granted under this Will, other than a lifetime general power of appointment, shall be subject to the provisions of this paragraph. Any trust created through the exercise of a lifetime general power of appointment shall terminate and be distributed as provided in the instrument in which such power shall be exercised. H. Power to Postpone Distribution Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Article, the Trustees shall have the power to postpone the distribution of a fractional part of the principal of a trust or of an entire trust if they shall determine that there is a compelling reason to postpone such distribution, such as a serious disability, a pending divorce, potential financial difficulty, a serious tax disadvantage in making such
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distribution,, or similar substantial cause. Accordingly, the termination of any trust may be postponed, and any such postponement may be continued from time to time, up to and including the entire lifetime of a beneficiary. During the postponement, the retained portion of the trust shall be distributed in the same manner as it was distributed immediately prior to the happening of the event requiring the distribution which was postponed. I. Power to Terminate Trust After the death of my wife, if the value of any trust has declined to such an amount that the Trustees deem it uneconomical, imprudent or unwise to continue to retain the principal in trust, the Trustees shall have the power to terminate such trust and to deliver the then remaining principal to or for the benefit of the beneficiary then entitled to receive the income of such trust or among such beneficiaries if there shall be more than one. If there shall be no beneficiaries then entitled to receive the income of such trust, such principal shall be delivered to or for the benefit of the beneficiaries then entitled, in the discretion of the Trustees, to receive distributions therefrom. Payment shall be made in equal shares or in shares determined by the Trustees, in their discretion, by reference to the terms of this Will. J. Trust Interest Not Transferable The interests of beneficiaries in principal or income of any trust shall not be subject to the claims of their creditors or others, nor to legal process, and may not be voluntarily or involuntarily alienated or encumbered.
ARTICLE IV. PROVISIONS REGARDING FIDUCIARIES A. Appointment of Executors I appoint my wife _________________ as Executor of this Will. If
__________________ shall be unable or unwilling to act as Executor, the
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following persons, in the order named, shall act in her place: , B. Appointment of Trustees I appoint as Trustee of all trusts created under this Will. If shall be unable or unwilling to act as Trustee, the following persons, in the order named, shall act in his place: , C. Appointment of Guardian If it shall be necessary to appoint a Guardian for the person of any minor child, I appoint children. If Guardian, I appoint D. as Guardian of the person of such child or shall be unable or unwilling to act as as Guardian. . .
Power to Designate Co-Fiduciaries and Successor Fiduciaries Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Article, each of the individuals acting from time to time as a fiduciary shall have the power to designate a cofiduciary to act with him or successors to act either concurrently or serially when he shall become unable or unwilling to act as a fiduciary. Each such individual may designate the same or different persons to so act. Each such individual may also from time to time remove any co-fiduciary designated pursuant to this paragraph or revoke any designation of any successor theretofore made by any fiduciary, and may designate other persons or one or more of the same persons, or all of the same persons previously designated, in a different order, as co-fiduciary or as successor fiduciary. All such designations or revocations shall be exercised in writing and shall be effective upon the delivery thereof to the person designated to act as such successor fiduciary, and, in the case of a revocation, to the person whose designation is so revoked. As used in this paragraph, the term "person" shall be deemed to include a corporate fiduciary.
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E.
No Bond No bond shall be required of any fiduciary, whether such fiduciary shall serve alone or together with one or more co-fiduciaries.
F.
Successor Fiduciaries Succeed to All Powers Any successor fiduciary shall succeed as such with like effect as though originally named in this Will. All authority, powers and titles conferred upon any ori