Last Will and Testament

[Freebie]

1 hour ago, hk blues said:

40% of anything above 325k, and only if you leave it to someone other than your spouse.  As I understand it. 

Correct,, and as I ( fortunately ) dont have spouse anymore( with no disprespect intended for those of you who do ) , Im on the hook for that 40%...

[Kingpin]

18 hours ago, Sailor Jerry said:

I did mine with my attorney here in Angeles City early last year after doing my condo Title. The Will cost was 8000 Pesos I recall. Very good job, very thorough as he usually is. I have one in Australia that I did a few years ago & I discussed it with him & he said this is usual for foreigners here in Philippines. A couple of friends have now used him here & were very satisfied. Since moving here 5 years ago I'd seen & heard about several horror stories where guys had not attended to these simple matters & caused a lot of hassle for their friends & loved ones & I didn't want to be in that boat.  

What specific hassle does the will prevent?

Only a portion of the estate is determined by will, the rest is reserved for compulsory heirs and distributed according to very complicated law:

 

Quote

 Art. 886. Legitime is that part of the testator's property which he cannot dispose of because the law has reserved it for certain heirs who are, therefore, called compulsory heirs. 

Art. 888. The legitime of legitimate children and descendants consists of one-half of the hereditary estate of the father and of the mother.

Art. 892. If only one legitimate child or descendant of the deceased survives, the widow shall be entitled to one-fourth of the hereditary estate. 

If there are two or more legitimate children or descendants, the surviving spouse shall be entitled to a portion equal to the legitime of each of the legitimate children or descendants.

Art. 894. If the testator leaves illegitimate children, the surviving spouse shall be entitled to one-third of the hereditary estate of the deceased and the illegitimate children to another third. The remaining third shall be at the free disposal of the testator. (n)

And it doesn't stop there, it goes on, and on, and on https://chanrobles.com/civilcodeofthephilippinesbook3.htm

[mountainside]

4 hours ago, Kingpin said:

What specific hassle does the will prevent?

Only a portion of the estate is determined by will, the rest is reserved for compulsory heirs and distributed according to very complicated law

It looks to me like the only way to avoid the mandatory distribution rules is to legally disinherit the mandatory heirs, and specifically reference the disinheritances in the will.  https://www.legalguide.ph/what-happens-if-you-exclude-heirs-in-the-will   But I won't bother.  All our Philippine assets will be in my wife's name only.

Like you, we'll keep all US cash and securities in joint or POD accounts.

[KrisT]

Makes me glad for crypto (especially secured stablecoins). No fees, no taxes, no extra hands in the pot. This will change, in time, I'm sure, as regulators like to regulate, but, for now, if I get hit by a jeepney (even if she's the one pushing me in front of it), bills will still get paid on time.

[hk blues]

58 minutes ago, KrisT said:

Makes me glad for crypto (especially secured stablecoins). No fees, no taxes, no extra hands in the pot. This will change, in time, I'm sure, as regulators like to regulate, but, for now, if I get hit by a jeepney (even if she's the one pushing me in front of it), bills will still get paid on time.

Assuming Crypto isn't on one of it's downward spirals at that time!