Article III

I give my residuary estate, which shall not include any property over which I have power of appointment, to my spouse, if then living on the day after the date of my death, or if my spouse is not then living, per stirpes, to my descendants living at my death; provided, however, that if any such descendant of mine has not reached legal age under the law of the jurisdiction in which that descendant is domiciled at the time of distribution under this Article, then distribution of his or her share shall be made to the person having legal custody of said child, and such person shall represent the child, receipt for and hold the child’s share for his or her benefit.

 

As we discussed, your residuary estate is that property you have left over after giving away specific items, such as your personal property, and after taxes and expenses.  A power of appointment is a right to give someone else's property away.  For instance, Tom's father may have created a trust for Tom, but after Tom dies, he is allowed to appoint who should get the trust. If you have a power of appointment, you must specifically refer to it and state how you wish to exercise it.  The other term you may not be familiar with is the Latin term per stripes.  To distribute something to your descendants, per stripes, you would go to the next generation in which you have living descendants.  Your residuary estate would then be divided into as many shares as you have living descendents at that generation and into as many shares as you have pre-deceased descendants who left living descendants.  As an example if Tom has two living children and one child who is deceased but left children living, Tom's residuary estate would be divided into one-third for each of the two living children and the deceased child's children would split the remaining one-third.

Article IV

  A. I name Gene Sample as personal representatives of this will. No personal representative of this will shall be required to furnish bond or other security as personal representative. If the above named person is unable or unwilling to serve as personal representative, then I name Brother Ted Sample to serve in that capacity.

  B. In addition to all powers granted by the laws of the State of Anystate, I give my personal representatives power, exercisable in the discretion of my personal representatives and without court order, to retain, sell (at public or private sale), exchange, lease for any term (even though commencing in the future or extending beyond the date of final distribution of my estate), mortgage, pledge, or otherwise deal for any purpose with the property, real or personal, from time to time comprising my estate, for such consideration and on such terms (with or without security) as my personal representatives shall determine; to invest in any property whatsoever; to compromise or abandon any claims in favor of or against my estate; to hold any property in the name of a nominee or in bearer form; to employ accountants, depositaries, attorneys, and agents; to execute contracts, notes, conveyances, and other instruments, including instruments containing covenants and warranties binding upon and creating a charge against my estate, and containing provisions excluding personal liability; to make distributions wholly in cash or in kind, or partly in each; to allot different kinds or disproportionate shares of property or undivided interests in property among the beneficiaries; and to determine the value of any property distributed in kind.

  C. I empower my personal representatives to make such elections under the tax laws as my personal representatives deem advisable, including an election to create qualified terminable interest property for both estate and generation-skipping tax purposes or for estate tax purposes alone. Any decision made by my personal representatives with respect to the exercise of any tax election or the allocation of my GST exemption shall be binding and conclusive on all persons.

  D. I direct that the compensation of the personal representative shall be in accordance with the maximum amount allowed under the laws of the State of Anystate in effect at the time the services are rendered.

  This article appoints a person to take control of your estate after your death.  This person, the personal representative is sometimes referred to as an executor or administrator.  In this will, Tom appointed his wife Gene, and if she is unable, he appointed his brother Ted.  If you wish, you can appoint two people, they do not need to be related to you, but they should live near you so they can take physical control of your assets.  This article gives the personal representative the right to do certain things, states that they serve without bond, and that the person should be paid a customary amount.