By Hap Volz

A well thought out estate plan should address three levels of concern.

The first level, which all estate plans cover, is who should be the primary beneficiaries. One should not assume, however, that all primary beneficiaries will survive until the property is transferred.

The second level of concern, therefore, is who should receive the share left to a primary beneficiary if that beneficiary does not survive. There are two ways to handle this. The first is to name a contingent beneficiary who will receive the share in the event that the primary beneficiary does not survive. The second way is to make the bequest conditional on the primary beneficiary surviving.

If neither step is taken, the Iowa and Illinois Codes contain a limited anti-lapse statute. Under Iowa law, if property is bequeathed unconditionally to a beneficiary who is not the spouse of the testator and who predeceases the testator's date of death, the property will be distributed to that beneficiary's issue. If there are no issue, the bequest will lapse. The bequest will also lapse if the beneficiary is the testator's spouse. Under Illinois law the bequest to an individual who predeceases the testator will lapse unless the individual is a descendant of the testator. In this case, the bequest will pass to the descendants of that individual, if any.

The third and equally important level is to provide for the distribution of assets if none of the designated beneficiaries survive. Often, too little thought is given to this level. Many times, the will or trust will only provide for the distribution of assets to the heirs of the testator or settlor or divide half of the assets to those heirs and half the spouse's heirs.

Instead of possibly leaving property to individuals who might not even know the testator or settlor, thoughtful estate planners should consider designating one or more charities as the final beneficiary. Thus, for example, a will or trust could provide that if all of the beneficiaries predecease the testator or settlor, the property shall be distributed to the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend. In this way, the assets will remain in the community doing good long after the death of the testator or settlor.