Friday, July 11, 2008

Legal Lingo


One thing that people don't like to think about is getting their affairs in order or estate planning. One way to do this is to set up a Last Will and Testament. If you have any asset to your name, you want to make a Will.

When you bequeath your possessions people, you can identity how it is to be disbursed with a couple of legal words. Let's assume you have two direct heirs. You want to leave everything to them and you want to have it split between them 50%-50%. What if one of them passes away before you? Here's where the lingo comes in. Basically put:

Per Capita This means the surviving sibling now receives 100%.
Per Stirpes This means the surviving sibling receives 50% and the direct heirs of the sibling who passed away (nieces/nephews) receives the other 50% share.

There are several ways to make sure that your earthly possessions get passed to the people or places where you want them to go. Since there are so many variables that makes our planning unique, it is worth setting up an appointment with your attorney to discuss your options. Take the time to plan - your heirs will thank you for it!

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