FINANCIaL
FIELd NOTES
Revocable Trust as Beneficiary vs. Retitling Accounts
Adding a revocable trust to your estate plan is a common move that can simplify the management of assets during your lifetime and the distribution of assets after your death. However, when you put a trust in place, one of the most time-consuming actions is retitling assets into the name of the trust. This step often requires paperwork at banks and county offices for any real estate deed retitling. But it’s necessary because having a trust does nothing if you don’t put assets into the trust.
I’ve had several clients over the years ask if they can simply make the trust beneficiary of an account instead of going through the trouble of retitling the asset…
Lightening the Executor Load for Your Adult Child
It's natural to want to ease the burden on our loved ones when we pass away. One crucial aspect of this preparation is selecting an executor for your estate. While it's common to appoint a family member, particularly an adult child, to this role, it's equally important to consider how to lighten their load during a challenging time.
Here are some key strategies to consider…
Navigating Family Conversations Around Mortality
Conversations around mortality are rare. Usually, the person aging wants to avoid it, and families are more than willing to oblige, given how difficult they are to have. Because of this, end-of-life care is often not handled in a way that most would prefer.
I recently finished a book, Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande – where he shares from his perspective as a doctor how families navigated real-life scenarios, both the good and the bad. Here are my key takeaways…
Should You Name Your Adult Child Co-Trustee?
A critical aspect of proper estate planning is the Financial Power of Attorney document. However, if you have created a revocable living trust, assets that are titled in the name of the trust are managed by the named trustee, not your power of attorney. Because of this, one common question that arises is whether to name an adult child as a co-trustee.
Naming a child co-trustee is different from listing them as a successor trustee where the primary trustee must step down or be unable to serve for a successor to serve. I have seen some clients consider this change to naming a co-trustee after one spouse has passed away and the surviving spouse is considering their financial future…
Steps to Protect Your Late Spouse From Identity Theft
Losing a spouse is a deeply emotional and challenging experience, and dealing with the aftermath can be overwhelming. Amid the grieving process and the myriad administrative tasks that follow, it's crucial not to overlook the potential risk of identity theft.
Sadly, scammers target deceased individuals because there is often no one tracking their finances. In doing so, they target their surviving spouses, who are left cleaning up the mess…
Choosing Between a Springing or Durable Power of Attorney Document
A proper estate plan includes a Financial Power of Attorney (POA) document, that dictates who will manage your finances on your behalf in the event you are unable to do so. While these documents typically come into play toward the end of life when a personal physical and mental capacity diminishes, these are occasionally used in other circumstances like sudden disability or when traveling with limited access to the internet.
However, not all POAs are the same. There are two main types…