{"id":1054,"date":"2017-04-26T10:15:32","date_gmt":"2017-04-26T14:15:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/?p=1054"},"modified":"2017-04-26T10:15:32","modified_gmt":"2017-04-26T14:15:32","slug":"name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust","title":{"rendered":"Can I Name a Contingent Beneficiary in a Standard Legal Trust?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Standard Legal’s Living Trust Agreements<\/a> generally fall into one of two categories: Trusts that pass property to the Grantor’s children; and Trusts that pass property to specifically named beneficiaries <\/p>\n

For both of these types of Standard Legal Trusts, the Grantor can choose a how to distribute property to his\/her named Beneficiaries if any of these individuals predecease (pass away before) the Grantor. <\/p>\n

The choices are \u201cper stirpes\u201d or \u201cper capita.\u201d <\/p>\n

And the choice of distribution provides a structure for addressing for contingent Beneficiaries. <\/p>\n

\u201cPer stirpes” is the more commonly used method of distribution. Upon the death of any of the Grantor’s Beneficiaries (whether it be Children, Nephews\/Nieces, family friends, etc.), property is passed through lineal distribution to the heirs of the deceased Beneficiaries (and if the Beneficiary is the Grantor’s Children, the lineal descendants would be the Grantor’s grandchildren).<\/p>\n

If the Grantor chooses \u201cper capita\u201d distribution, then all of the living members of the identified group (e.g. the Grantor’s nieces and nephews) will receive an equal share of the trust estate. However, if a member of that identified group dies, then a distributive share of the estate will not be created for the deceased member and the distributive shares of the other members of the identified group will be increased accordingly. As an example: The Grantor and his or her spouse has died and they are survived by two adult Beneficiaries, Amy and Bob. Regardless of whether per stirpes or per capita is chosen, Amy and Bob will each receive 50% of the Grantor’s estate upon the death of the Grantor and his or her spouse. But, if Bob dies before either the Grantor or his or her spouse, where would Bob’s 50% share of the estate go upon the death of the Grantor and the spouse? If the Grantor wants Bob’s share to be inherited by Bob’s Beneficiaries, then the Grantor would choose \u201cper stirpes\u201d distribution. On the other hand, if the Grantor wants Amy to inherit the entire estate (which would result in Bob’s Beneficiaries receiving nothing), then the Grantor would choose a \u201cper capita\u201d distribution.<\/p>\n

To take the example further, assume both Amy and Bob have predeceased the Grantor and the spouse. Amy has one child named Carl; Bob has two Beneficiaries, Daniel and Elizabeth. If the Grantor had chosen a \u201cper stirpes\u201d distribution, then Carl (Amy’s only son) gets \u00bd of the Trust estate while Daniel and Elizabeth (Bob’s Beneficiaries) each get \u00bc of the estate. But, if the Grantor had chosen a \u201cper capita\u201d distribution, each of the Grantor’s grandchildren (Carl, Daniel and Elizabeth) would receive an equal 1\/3 share of the Trust estate.<\/p>\n

As such, the \u201cper stirpes\u201d and \u201cper capita\u201d designations provide for alternate or successor beneficiaries should any of the named beneficiaries predecease the Grantor.<\/p>\n

Of course, if any of the Grantor’s Beneficiaries die while the Grantor is alive, the Grantor can amend the Trust to address specific scenarios of distribution of the Trust property. <\/p>\n

Get the Living Trust software from Standard Legal here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Standard Legal’s Living Trust Agreements generally fall into one of two categories: Trusts that pass property to the Grantor’s children; and Trusts that pass property to specifically named beneficiaries For both of these types of Standard Legal Trusts, the Grantor can choose a how to distribute property to his\/her named Beneficiaries if any of these … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-living-trust-questions"],"yoast_head":"\nCan I Name a Contingent Beneficiary in a Standard Legal Trust? - Ask Standard Legal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn the options available in naming a Contingent Beneficiary using the Living Trust legal forms software available from Standard Legal.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can I Name a Contingent Beneficiary in a Standard Legal Trust? - Ask Standard Legal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn the options available in naming a Contingent Beneficiary using the Living Trust legal forms software available from Standard Legal.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ask Standard Legal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/StandardLegalSoftware\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-26T14:15:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Standard Legal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@StandardLegal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Standard Legal\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Standard Legal\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d43d72c05d7716823188aa03d9f96525\"},\"headline\":\"Can I Name a Contingent Beneficiary in a Standard Legal Trust?\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-26T14:15:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust\"},\"wordCount\":526,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Living Trust Questions\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust\",\"name\":\"Can I Name a Contingent Beneficiary in a Standard Legal Trust? - Ask Standard Legal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-26T14:15:32+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn the options available in naming a Contingent Beneficiary using the Living Trust legal forms software available from Standard Legal.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can I Name a Contingent Beneficiary in a Standard Legal Trust?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ask Standard Legal\",\"description\":\"Ask a Legal Question for FREE! Read Hundreds of Law Q&A Topics.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Standard Legal\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/09\\\/Waving-American-Flag.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/09\\\/Waving-American-Flag.jpg\",\"width\":954,\"height\":375,\"caption\":\"Standard Legal\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.standardlegal.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d43d72c05d7716823188aa03d9f96525\",\"name\":\"Standard Legal\",\"description\":\"Standard Legal helps everyday people handle common legal issues on their own in an affordable way.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.StandardLegal.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/StandardLegalSoftware\",\"http:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/standard-legal\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/StandardLegal\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can I Name a Contingent Beneficiary in a Standard Legal Trust? - Ask Standard Legal","description":"Learn the options available in naming a Contingent Beneficiary using the Living Trust legal forms software available from Standard Legal.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can I Name a Contingent Beneficiary in a Standard Legal Trust? - Ask Standard Legal","og_description":"Learn the options available in naming a Contingent Beneficiary using the Living Trust legal forms software available from Standard Legal.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust","og_site_name":"Ask Standard Legal","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/StandardLegalSoftware","article_published_time":"2017-04-26T14:15:32+00:00","author":"Standard Legal","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@StandardLegal","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Standard Legal","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust"},"author":{"name":"Standard Legal","@id":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d43d72c05d7716823188aa03d9f96525"},"headline":"Can I Name a Contingent Beneficiary in a Standard Legal Trust?","datePublished":"2017-04-26T14:15:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust"},"wordCount":526,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Living Trust Questions"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust","url":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust","name":"Can I Name a Contingent Beneficiary in a Standard Legal Trust? - Ask Standard Legal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-04-26T14:15:32+00:00","description":"Learn the options available in naming a Contingent Beneficiary using the Living Trust legal forms software available from Standard Legal.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/name-contingent-beneficiary-standard-legal-trust#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can I Name a Contingent Beneficiary in a Standard Legal Trust?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/","name":"Ask Standard Legal","description":"Ask a Legal Question for FREE! Read Hundreds of Law Q&A Topics.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Standard Legal","url":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Waving-American-Flag.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Waving-American-Flag.jpg","width":954,"height":375,"caption":"Standard Legal"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d43d72c05d7716823188aa03d9f96525","name":"Standard Legal","description":"Standard Legal helps everyday people handle common legal issues on their own in an affordable way.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.StandardLegal.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/StandardLegalSoftware","http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/standard-legal","https:\/\/x.com\/StandardLegal"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1054"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1055,"href":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054\/revisions\/1055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.standardlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}