Personal Property Memorandum: Fill & Download for Free

Disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer, so this isn’t legal advice.No. And maybe.No: A purchaser must be of legal age. A 16-year-old is not of legal age. You didn’t mention emancipation in your question. If a 16-year-old is legally emancipated, it appears that, in some cases, the answer can be “yes.” Otherwise, no. (And to address another answer below, the answer has nothing to do with credit—seasoned or otherwise—or available cash. These are conditions that might be imposed by a lender or seller. And it’s certainly possible to buy property with poor credit or no cash.)The “maybe” deals with land trusts. A land trust is considered personal property, not real estate. It might be possible for the house (the real estate) to be put in a land trust. One of the beneficiaries of the land trust would be the 16-year-old. Then the trust—as personal property—is transferred entirely or at least a majority—to the 16-year-old. The trust remains the owner of the real estate. However, the teenager would have power of direction over the trust and, therefore, be in a position to control the real estate.If I were a 16-year-old and wanted to buy my own house, first I’d check with a real estate attorney for advice. My second course of action would be to have someone who was legally able to buy the property to purchase it. There would be a side agreement—essentially an option—giving the 16-year-old the right to purchase the property once he came of age. It might also be advisable—and again an attorney would have to be involved—for the actual purchaser to complete a purchase-and-sales agreement selling the property to the 16-year-old. The teen couldn’t immediately exercise it because of his age, but the agreement would be kept by an attorney so that it would be available as soon as the kid turned 18. To protect the teen’s interest, it would be advisable to “cloud the title” by filing a document (sometimes termed “Memorandum of Agreement” or “Notice of Agreement” with the city or county that would accompany the deed and serve notice that someone else had an interest in the property. Then, at age 18, the teen would complete his portion of the purchase agreement, and become the property owner.

Can the executor and beneficiary take everything not mentioned in the will?Negatory, for the simple reason a well drafted will accounts for and provides for distribution of all of decedent’s property, even those items not specifically identified therein.A well drafted will includes at least the following articles regarding distribution of property:Distribution of Tangible Personal Property. In this article testator leaves instructions for how and to whom his/her tangible personal property should be distributed. “Tangible personal property” can include testator’s personal effects, including but not limited to testator’s jewelry, wristwatches, stamp collections, coin collections, art, furniture, motor vehicles and what have you.Very often a distribution of tangible personal property article in a will (or revocable trust) will reference a personal property memorandum[1][1][1][1] upon which testator can identify specific personal items and their destinations.The purpose of a personal property memorandum is to eliminate the need for testator to execute a codicil to his/her will (or amendment to his/her revocable trust) each time s/he changes his/her mind about who should receive specific items of his/her personal property.Specific Devises. In this section of a well drafted will, testator sets forth specific pecuniary bequests. E.g., $1000 to testator’s church; $1000 to testator’s favorite charity; $1000 to testator’s college; $1000 to his/her best friend. Et cetera.Distribution of Residue. In this section of a well drafted will, testator leaves instructions about how and in what proportions all leftover monies (“residuary estate”) shall be distributed.E.g., testator has a spouse and three children: testator could leave his/her entire residuary estate to his/her spouse, with contingent distributions to each of his/her children then living should his/her spouse predecease him/her.Because the will accounted for and gave instructions for distribution of all property, even if not specifically mentioned in the will, there would be nothing extra that executor and beneficiary could take.If at any time executor disagrees with any instructions regarding distributions or other instructions testator left him/her in the will and feels s/he cannot comply with the instructions, executor must resign the office.If a beneficiary is not happy with the gift testator left him/her in the will, s/he could disclaim it and it will be distributed elsewhere.See an estates attorney if you are not sure who can take under a will (or trust) or where it should go.While Quora legal discussions can be interesting and sometimes informative and entertaining, in no way should their content be taken or construed as legal advice. Only an attorney at law person has retained and with whom s/he has established an attorney-client relationship and who has been apprised of all facts in a matter is qualified to render legal advice for any situation.Footnotes[1] Using a ‘Personal Property Memorandum’ With Your Will[1] Using a ‘Personal Property Memorandum’ With Your Will[1] Using a ‘Personal Property Memorandum’ With Your Will[1] Using a ‘Personal Property Memorandum’ With Your Will

Can the executor take everything not mentioned in the will?I understand your question to mean can executor keep for him/her/itself everything not mentioned in the will.The answer is no, for the simple reason a well drafted will accounts for and provides for distribution of all of decedent’s property, even those items not specifically identified therein.Otherwise, the only way executor (personal representative) might take something not specifically mentioned in the will is if the instrument names him/her as a beneficiary in one or more of the following articles.A well drafted will include at least the following articles regarding distribution of property:Distribution of Tangible Personal Property. “Tangible personal property” can include testator’s personal effects, including but not limited to testator’s jewelry, wristwatches, stamp collections, coin collections, art, furniture, motor vehicles and what have you.Very often a distribution of tangible personal property article in a will (or revocable trust) will reference a personal property memorandum[1][1][1][1] upon which testator can identify specific personal items and their destination. The purpose of a personal property memorandum is to eliminate the need for testator to execute a codicil to his/her will (or amendment to his/her revocable trust) every time s/he changes his/her mind about who should receive specific items of his/her personal property.Specific Devises. In this section of a well drafted will, testator sets forth specific pecuniary bequests. E.g., $1000 to testator’s church; $1000 to testator’s favorite charity; $1000 to testator’s college; $1000 to his/her best friend. Et cetera.Disposition of Residue. In this section of a well drafted will, testator leaves instructions about how and in what proportions all leftover monies (“residuary estate”) shall be distributed. E.g., testator has a spouse and three children. Testator could leave his/her entire residuary estate to his/her spouse, with contingent distributions to each of his/her children then living in approximately equal shares should his/her spouse predecease him/her.Only if executor (personal representative) is named as a beneficiary in testator’s will (or revocable trust) would s/he be entitled to take thereunder. Otherwise, executor may NOT take everything not mentioned in the will, simply because the will accounted for and gave instructions for distribution of all property, even if not specifically mentioned in the will.Go see an estates attorney if you are not sure who can take under a will (or trust).While Quora legal discussions can be interesting and sometimes informative and entertaining, in no way should their content be taken or construed as legal advice. Only an attorney at law person has retained and with whom s/he has established an attorney-client relationship and who has been apprised of all facts in a matter is qualified to render legal advice for any situation.Footnotes[1] Using a ‘Personal Property Memorandum’ With Your Will[1] Using a ‘Personal Property Memorandum’ With Your Will[1] Using a ‘Personal Property Memorandum’ With Your Will[1] Using a ‘Personal Property Memorandum’ With Your Will