Wills - “the Residue of your Estate”

Jules

Jules

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Be careful about the wording of your will.

This is the not the first time an open-ended statement in a will meant that more funds went to a charity or person other than was originally intended.

The only other party named in the document, the B.C. SPCA, was left the residue of her estate — the money remaining after assets were liquidated and expenses and distributions paid out.
In Murray's case, the residue of estate amounted to approximately $1.4 million for the B.C. SPCA after the sale of her Collingwood Street home in Kitsilano for $1.9 million.
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Last year, a group of Murray's relatives filed suit alleging a handwritten note with "SPCA" and "100,000" written beside it was proof she intended for the animal welfare agency to receive the much smaller amount of $100,000.
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-spca-estate-will-1.6152938

A few years ago a will specified that a Heart Fund would get the residue of the estate. The daughter was to inherit the house, except it was sold a few years after the will was written. The funds became part of the ‘residue of the estate. It was quite obvious that those funds were not meant to go to the charity. They refused to give it back.
 

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If you have wealth, get a good estate attorney,, whose practice is wills, etc. not the guys with the TV ads. This is going tp give you peace of mind that things will be handled as you wish. And a well written will alleviates all kinds of headaches, and deeply bitter feelings.
In my case, my heirs will be lucky if they won't have to pay.
 
This is a great thing to consider.

My cash/investment accounts have beneficiaries listed. I can update those online if needed. It’s just as important to keep them up to date as a will but much easier and less expensive.

My stuff is my residual estate and has little monetary value.
 
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