There are two sets of data fields that are critical to set asset ownership in Legacy Logix. These fields appear on financial items that hold value. These are typically items in your digital vault in the Financial, Insurance and Property areas.
Asset Ownership (how the asset is held)
Assets Beneficiaries (people named to received the asset)
Determining if an asset is going to assessed as a part of probate, or will be excluded from the probate calculation is based on how these Asset Ownership, and Asset Beneficiary fields are defined.
Asset Ownership (How Assets are Held)
When adding a new asset to Legacy Logix, you will see two or three options for Asset Ownership. These options can be seen by clicking on the "Held by Estate holders or trust" field.
Held Individually. This means the asset is held in the name of the estate holder and not in a legal structure like a trust. There is a second field that represents the percent of this asset held by the estate holder. If this were a car and it was co-owned by a friend, than the percent would be set to 50%.
Held in Trust. This field will allow you to select a trust that already exists in Legacy Logix or add a new trust. It also provides a means to show the percentage of the trust the estate holder has. In most cases, trusts are not owned by multiple people, but in some rare cases, they are.
Held In Common. A third option is shown when the Legacy Logix account has 2 estate holders (such as husband and wife). In that case this third option is show for Held In Common. This is typically used in community property states.
Named Beneficiaries
If the Estate holder has submitted beneficiaries to their financial institution, insurance company, or, in some cases for property, the deed, Legacy Logix lets you record who the beneficiaries are.
Beneficiaries are the people who will get the asset if you pass away, but only if those individuals are alive. Successor beneficiaries are those people who will get the asset if there are no beneficiaries alive. Legacy Logix does not allow you to record how much each beneficiary received (as in the percentage of the asset). Legacy Logix's primary purpose is to assure those settling the estate know who the beneficiaries are. You will work with the legal documents (typically kept in your Legacy Logix Digital Vault) you have for the Estate or with the institution that holds the asset to learn the estate holders' list of beneficiaries and successor beneficiaries along with the detailed instructions on distributing the asset.
