Idaho Law Blog
Oftentimes the simpler you can keep your estate planning the better it will be. If your Last Will and Testament is complex, then anytime a major circumstance in your life changes, you may need to rewrite your Last Will and Testament. Our goal in completing estate planning for our clients is to keep things as simple as possible and yet allow flexibility with regards to the giving away of specific gifts. To do this we incorporate a specific gift list into every Last Will and Testament that we draft. Idaho law allows us to do this if we find it to be a good practice.
WHAT IS A SPECIFIC GIFT LIST?
The Last Will and Testament documents that we prepare for our clients include a paragraph on the front page that describes the specific gift list that may be included by our client. Then at the end of each Last Will and Testament we include a specific gift list form that can be filled out by our clients. Essentially it is a form that allows our clients to describe a specific gift and the individual they want that gift to go to. Additionally, the form then provides blank lines that allow the client to sign and date that specific gift.
CAN I CHANGE MY SPECIFIC GIFT LIST?
Normally, in Idaho anytime you change your Last Will and Testament document the entire document has to be signed by the client, witnessed by two specific witnesses, and then properly notarized in order to be valid. However, there is a specific provision of Idaho law that allows for a specific gift list to be used. This is Idaho code § 15-2 -513. This statute states in part:
To be admissible under this section as evidence of the intended disposition, the writing must either be in the handwriting of the testator or be signed by him and must describe the items and the devisees with reasonable certainty. The writing may be referred to as one to be in existence at the time of the testator’s death; it may be prepared before or after the execution of the will; it may be altered by the testator after its preparation; and it may be a writing which has no significance apart from its effect upon the dispositions made by the will.
The statute provides an easy method for our clients to make specific gifts that are not actually written down in the Last Will and Testament itself. Allowing for this method provides the greatest flexibility in giving our clients the ability to make decisions about specific gifts after they have signed their Last Will and Testament. Additionally, our clients can change their minds about those specific gifts anytime they want to. They can simply scratch out the information that was written in their own handwriting on the form and fill out another section on the form for that gif to go to somebody else if they choose.
If you have questions about using a specific gift list as part of your estate planning, we can help. Call us toll free at 877-232-6101 or 208-232-6101 for a consultation with Lane Erickson and the Racine Olson team of Estate Planning attorneys in Idaho. You can also email Lane Erickson directly at lve@racinelaw.net. We will answer your Idaho Estate Planning questions and will help you solve your Idaho Estate Planning problems.
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