Can You Leave Stuff You Don’t Even Own Yet to People in Your Will?

When you write a will, or draft an estate plan, you generally leave everything you have, to whomever you designate as a beneficiary to receive those items. But what about items you don’t have yet, but expect to have later on? Or assets that you may or may not ever come into possession of?

Contingent Assets

There are a number of situations where this might apply. Imagine:

• Someone has a pending personal injury lawsuit, and the lawsuit isn’t expected to resolve anytime soon, and could resolve after that person has passed. The person might get a good amount of compensation after they’re gone–or they may get nothing.
• Someone is expected to inherit money or property from someone else, but that someone else is still alive at the time the person’s will is made.
• Someone has done work or a job or something that entitles them to payment sometimes in the future
• Someone is being paid back periodically over time, perhaps as repayment for a loan or settlement
• Someone is next in line to take over a business if the current owner retires, and you want to leave your interest in that business to someone else–but you don’t know if that person will actually retire before you pass away

Leaving Contingent Assets to Others

You can leave these “contingent assets” to others in your will, even though you don’t yet have them, and even though there’s a chance you may never come into possession of them at all.

This is often done as a residual clause in the will. A residual clause leaves “everything else,” that isn’t specifically named in the will, to the person you designate. You can leave, for example, “everything I receive from my personal injury lawsuit if it settles or resolves,” or “my commission check at the end of the year when I pass,” to whomever you designate.

You can also include a pour over provision in a will, which leaves any property not specifically mentioned in the will, to be placed in a trust that you create. The benefit of a trust is that you can then leave specific “if-then” instructions, giving you more flexibility than you would have in an ordinary will.

Planning for Contingencies

Contingent assets take some planning, because of their uncertainty. For example, if you have 2 brothers, and want to leave each an equal amount, leaving contingent money or assets that you don’t currently have but expect might come later on to one of them can risk you accidentally disinheriting that brother, if the assets never materialize. .

It’s worth noting the importance of updating your estate plan, if these contingent assets ever become reality–that is, if you do receive the money or assets while you are still alive.

Call the West Palm Beach probate attorneys at The Law Offices of Larry E. Bray today for help understanding how probate court will handle your property.