Will Substitutes (Joint Tenancy · POD · Trusts)
Wills & Succession · Lesson 07
Will Substitutes (Joint Tenancy · POD · Trusts)
這一課問的是：透過遺囑替代品如何於遺囑程序外移轉財產？
ActorActObjectStandardConsequence
Issue · what this lesson is really about
How does property pass outside probate through will substitutes?
這一課問的是：透過遺囑替代品如何於遺囑程序外移轉財產？
Trigger words & phrases that should flag this issue:
joint tenancypay on deathTODliving trustlife insurance
Core Terminology · 7 must-know
Tap a card to flip and reveal the meaning.
will substitute
Tap to see meaning
Nonprobate transfer device.
遺囑替代品。
joint tenancy
Tap to see meaning
Right of survivorship — property passes outside probate.
聯合共有。
POD
Tap to see meaning
Payable-on-death accounts.
支付死亡時。
TOD
Tap to see meaning
Transfer-on-death securities.
死亡時轉讓。
life insurance
Tap to see meaning
Pays beneficiary outside probate.
壽險。
revocable trust
Tap to see meaning
Living trust — passes outside probate.
可撤銷信託。
retirement accounts
Tap to see meaning
401(k), IRA designations.
退休帳戶。
Rule Sentence · the workhorse
Will substitutes — including joint tenancy, payable-on-death (POD) and transfer-on-death (TOD) accounts, life insurance, revocable living trusts, and retirement account designations — transfer property outside the probate process at death, governed by their own designation rules rather than the will.
Sentence Anatomy · 5 roles, 5 colors
Every rule sentence breaks into five visual roles.
Actor 行為人decedent死者
Act 行為using will substitute使用遺囑替代品
Object 對象property + beneficiary財產 + 受益人
Standard 法律標準nonprobate transfer mechanism非遺囑程序轉移機制
Consequence 後果property passes outside probate於程序外移轉
Casebook Snapshot · a real American case
Cook v. Equitable Life Assurance Society
Holding. A change of life-insurance beneficiary attempted by will is ineffective; life insurance contracts are will substitutes that pass according to their beneficiary designations regardless of contrary will provisions.
Why it matters. Cook confirms the autonomy of will substitutes — beneficiary designations control, not wills.
Cook：壽險指定獨立於遺囑運作。
Common Mistakes · what trips students
✗ will substitutes 受 will 控制。
✓ Operate independently of will.
獨立於遺囑。
✗ creditors 不可達 will substitutes。
✓ Some may reach for unpaid debts.
部分仍可達。
Mini IRAC · build the Application
Issue. Does the surviving joint tenant take the property by survivorship, or does the property pass under the testator's will?
Rule. Property held in joint tenancy passes by right of survivorship to the surviving joint tenant outside the probate process and is unaffected by the will.
Application (model). D held title to a house as joint tenants with X; D's will purports to leave that house to B. Because property held in joint tenancy passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant outside the probate process and is unaffected by the will, the fact that the house is in joint tenancy with X means X — not B — takes the house at D's death.
Pick the right element for each blank:
g1.
g2.
g3.
Conclusion. Therefore, X takes the house by survivorship; the will's contrary direction is ineffective as to the JT property.
MBE Check · multiple choice
T has a POD bank account designating son S as beneficiary. T's will leaves "all my bank accounts to daughter D." T dies. Who gets the POD account?
Practice Drill · tap to build the rule
Drop the chips here in correct order:
Tap chips to add → tap chips in the target to remove: