In the commercial, present are an elderly woman we presume to be the widow, the very attractive young blonde “soul mate” and the son.  The attorney recites the clause in which the jet, private island, and family business are left to the soul mate, to the disgust of the widow.  Finally, the Direct TV collection of movies is left to the son, who proceeds to carry on in celebration.  Funny, but is there any truth to any of it?

 No, not really.  While I can’t say I have had any client take that much interest in passing on an inheritance that includes their TV service, reading a will aloud isn’t a requirement and I’m not sure, outside of Hollywood, it ever really was required by law. 

But what about the idea that the widow gets nothing, or at least that’s the inference that the commercial leaves us with.  Of course, we don’t know what else the Direct TV subscriber’s will says, but most, if not all states, have a law to protect the “kept in the dark” spouse.  The law is known as the elective share.  It says that the surviving spouse is entitled to a minimum amount of the estate even if her spouse’s will cuts her out entirely, unless she knowingly waives that right.  So the poor “Direct TV” widow, if she lived in New Jersey, for example, could be entitled to as much as 1/3 of her husband’s estate, regardless what the will says.

 In that case, the son might not be celebrating quite as much if he only receives 4000 movies, the other 2000 being left to the widow.  It doesn’t make for as amusing a commerical, although I’d hate to think about how messy it could be deciding who gets what movies.  Sounds like that family may be headed for a court battle.

             Under intestacy laws, Mary’s sisters were entitled to split her estate 3 ways.  That’s where Jane made her first mistake.  A family friend told her she should split the estate 2 ways, not 3, because since Betsy had died, she wasn’t entitled to receive anything.  Except that, under New Jersey’s intestacy laws, Betsy’s share should have passed to Jim and John.

             Then Jane made her second mistake.  New Jersey has an inheritance tax payable based on the relationship of the heir to the decedent (the person who died).  Siblings are Class C beneficiaries.  Nephews are Class D beneficiaries.  Each class has a different tax rate.  So when Jane filed the inheritance tax return indicating that she and Ann were the heirs she didn’t pay enough tax. 

             When Jim and John realized they were entitled to receive a share of Mary’s estate they contacted an attorney who then contacted Jane.  Jane had already distributed the estate assets and had already filed the tax return and paid the tax by the 8 month deadline.  So, now she has a problem.  Jane has to retrieve funds from Ann to then pay Jim and Joe their proper share.  She also must file an amended tax return with the State and pay the proper amount of tax as well as a penalty for late payment at 10% per year.

             The irony of the story is that the estate was a simple one with a few bank accounts to be administered and an uncomplicated tax return.  But by trying to do it herself, Mary made mistakes that an experienced estate attorney would have recognized right away.  So now it will be more complicated to fix things.  A lesson learned the hard way.