Alaska Living Trust for Husband and Wife with No Children

California is a community property state, which means that following the death of a spouse, the surviving spouse will have entitlement to one-half of the community property (i.e., property that was acquired over the course of the marriage, regardless of which spouse acquired it).

This law states that no matter what your will says, your spouse has a right to inherit one-third or one-half (depending on the state and sometimes depending on the length of the marriage) of your total estate. To exercise this right, your spouse has to petition the probate court to enforce the law.

Most married couples own most of their assets jointly. Assets owned jointly between husband and wife pass automatically to the survivor.This requires the will to be probated and an executor to be appointed in order to secure the assets. There are exceptions to the probate requirement for estates of $50,000 or less.

The Spouse Is the Automatic Beneficiary for Married People A federal law, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), governs most pensions and retirement accounts.

In Alaska, you can make a living trust to avoid probate for virtually any asset you ownreal estate, bank accounts, vehicles, and so on. You need to create a trust document (it's similar to a will), naming someone to take over as trustee after your death (called a successor trustee).

Joint tenancy with right of survivorship. Property owned in joint tenancy automatically passes, without probate, to the surviving owner(s) when one owner dies. Tenancy by the entirety. Community property with right of survivorship.

If you die without a valid will, your state's intestacy laws determine the distribution of probate assets. Some states' laws provide that a surviving spouse automatically inherits all of the assets whether or not the couple had children together.

Many married couples own most of their assets jointly with the right of survivorship. When one spouse dies, the surviving spouse automatically receives complete ownership of the property. This distribution cannot be changed by Will.