A land dispute now in progress between the Blackfoot Tribe in Montana and the US Government shows yet again how making a will is an essential part of financial planning.
Much of the land held by native Americans (formerly known as American Indians) is held in group ownership, a legacy of the days when John Wayne conquered the great plains, and native Americans were not permitted to write a will.
Large parcels of tribal land came from ancestors who handed the land down to their descendants as tenants-in-common.
The result has been chaos, and today it is common for one small parcel of tribal land to have many hundreds of individual owners.
The US government is now striving to consolidate ownership with a programme to enable native Americans to buy from each other, so that the number of owners for each parcel is reduced. The new owners of the larger land parcels would then have the ability to preserve their land bank intact, by passing it on in their will.
Writing a will
Here in Europe, writing a will is equally essential for ensuring an efficient and orderly asset transfer to those precise individuals we wish to nominate as our heirs.
Dying with no will in place is known as ‘dying intestate’, in which situation the government takes over the distribution of your assets under the ‘rules of intestacy’.
By ceding control to the government in this way, your spouse and children may receive only part of what you intended, and if you and your partner are unmarried, your partner is automatically entitled to nothing at all – the notion of a common law wife or husband is a myth.
Making a will under the guidance of your financial adviser can also protect you from Inheritance Tax at 40% on parts of your wealth when you die, and in your will you can also nominate guardians for your children, if they should be orphaned before the age of 18.
