Adult Children

Wills, Trusts & Dying Intestate: How They Differ

Most people understand that having some sort of an estate plan is a good thing. However, many of us don’t take the steps to have an estate plan prepared because we don’t understand the nuances between wills and trusts – and dying without either.

Here’s what will generally happen if you die, intestate (without a will or trust), with a will, and with a trust. For this example, we’re assuming you have children, but no spouse:

If you should die intestate, your estate will go through probate and all the world will know what you owned, what you owed, and who got what. Your mortgage company, car loan company, and credit card companies will all seek payment on balances you owed at the time of your death.

After that, state law will decide who gets what and when.

For example, your state’s intestate statute may mandate divvying up proceeds equally among your children.
Your older children will get their shares immediately if they’ve attained adulthood.
But, the court will appoint a guardian of its choosing to manage the money for your minor children until they become adults and possibly a separate guardian to raise your minor children.
Shockingly, that guardian can charge a lot of money to manage the money for your minor children and be a total stranger – as can the guardian who raises your minor children.
If you die without a valid will, the court, not you, will decide the futures of your minor children.

Keep in mind that since your death has been published to alert valid creditors, it’s possible for predators (fake creditors) to come forth and make demands for payment – even if they’re not owed anything.

The bottom line? Dying intestate allows state law and the court to make all the decisions on your behalf – regardless of what your intent might have been. Publicity is guaranteed.

If you die with a valid will, your assets will still go through the probate process. However, after creditors have been satisfied, the remaining assets go to whom you’ve identified in your will.

If you want to leave money to your children and name a guardian for the minor ones, the court will usually abide by your wishes.
The same holds true if you specified that you wanted to give assets to a charity, your Aunt Betty, or your neighbor.
Keep in mind that predatory creditors are still an issue as your death has been publicized. Even with a will, probate is a public process.

The bottom line? While a court oversees the process, having a will allows you to tell the court exactly how you want your estate to be handled. But, a public probate is still guaranteed.

If you’ve created a trust, you’ve taken control of your estate plan and your assets. Trust assets are not subject to the probate process and one of the most important benefits of trusts is that they are private. Although notices to creditors may be published, most of the other details (your assets, who is receiving what, etc.) remain private, helping your family minimize the risk of predators.

As part of the trust drafting process, you’ll have named a trustee to manage your estate, when you are no longer able to, and provide him or her with specific instructions on how your assets should be dispersed and when.

One word of caution – trusts must be funded in order to bypass probate.
Funding means that your assets have been retitled in the name of your trust.
Think of your trust as a bushel basket. You must put the apples into the basket just as you must put your assets into the trust for either to have value.

Even if you have a trust prepared, you still need a will to pour any assets inadvertently or intentionally left out of your trust and to name guardians for minor children. However, this type of will is much shorter and less complicated than one that is responsible for disposing of all of your assets to your beneficiaries.

The bottom line? Trusts allow you to maintain control of your assets through your chosen trustee, avoid probate, and leave specific instructions so that your children are taken care of – without receiving a lump sum of money at an age where they are more likely to squander it or have it seized from them.

Don’t let the will versus trust controversy slow you down. Call our office today so we can answer any questions you may have and put together an estate plan that works for you and your family whether it be a will, trust, or both.

Do your parents have an estate plan?

parents estate plan — Happy family watching television on sofa at home

If you find yourself in the “sandwich generation” (someone who is caring for both your children as well as your parents simultaneously), you need to know whether or not your parents have put together an estate plan. While it is still your parent’s choice to make estate planning decisions, having a plan — no matter how late in life it is created — is an absolute must.

The thought of speaking with your parents about their finances and estate planning probably makes you want to run as fast as you can in the opposite direction. Nonetheless, having this conversation is the key to helping make sure your parents are able to live their golden years without financial worries and that their wishes are carried out after their death.

Estate Planning for Your Parents

Talking about the future with your parents — including their estate matters, finances, and memorial wishes — is one of the most important conversations you can have with them. And, the earlier you address this, the better off all of you will be. Below are some key topics you need to discuss with your parents to make sure their estate planning is in proper order:

A team effort: If your parents have legal and financial professionals that help with their matters, make sure to get a full list of these individuals’ contact information. You should also have the contact information of your parents’ doctors, in the event end-of-life decisions need to be made for them.
Last will and testament and a trust: If your parents do not have a will written up, they likely do not have any other estate planning documents. If they do have wills in place make sure to confirm how long ago they were drafted, who the executor will be, and where the original documents are located. A trust may also be appropriate depending on your parent’s circumstances and wishes. Stress to them that you do not need to read the terms, but that you should know where they are so you can help ensure their wishes are carried out.
Advanced directives: Make sure your parents have living wills and powers of attorney so that someone will be able to make decisions on their behalf if they are unable to do so. Also ensure you understand their respective feelings about end-of-life decisions, such as life support, and how their financial and medical affairs should be handled should they become incapacitated.
Insurance policies: Find out what insurance policies your parents have and where the policies are located in the event one or both become incapacitated. This includes knowing about health insurance (private or Medicare), life insurance, homeowners, auto insurance, disability insurance, and long-term care policies.
Financial and investment accounts: Your parents should also consider compiling a list of their brokerage, bank, and mutual fund accounts as well as the account numbers. This will make things easier if someone needs to step in and assist with financial matters due to their death or incapacity.

Why Estate Planning Matters

Failing to put together an estate plan often leads to chaos, unnecessary costs and taxes, potential hurt feelings, delays in distribution of assets, and even unexpected outcomes after death. For example, if your parents hold some assets in joint tenancy with a child who lives nearby but does not include other children, the distribution of the asset becomes distorted. When joint tenancy is used instead of an estate planning tool like a trust, adult children left behind will be offended as a result of the parents’ asset distribution.

Do not let fear or discomfort keep you from sitting down and having this important estate planning conversation with your parents. As estate planning attorneys, we can give you and your parents advice on what options are available to them so that their wishes are followed upon their death.

If you would like to create or update your estate plan, call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk.

Parental Warning: If You Own Your Property This Way, You May Accidentally Disinherit Your Own Children

Owning property as Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship is easy, common, and often disastrous. Sadly, children – both minor and adult – are often disinherited.

While there are several forms of joint ownership, the one most people use (and the one considered in this discussion) is called “Joint Ownership with Right of Survivorship.” When one owner dies, the jointly owned asset automatically, by operation of law, transfers to the surviving owner.

Joint ownership is a very common way for married people to own their assets.
Joint ownership is also commonly used by aging parents and their adult children.

Joint Ownership Just Postpones Probate

In most cases, joint ownership merely postpones probate; it doesn’t totally avoid it. If the surviving owner does not add a new joint owner (or place the asset in trust) before she dies, the asset will have to go through probate before it can go to the heirs. Or, if the owners die at the same time, probate is required immediately.

Joint Ownership Can Cause You to Unintentionally Disinherit Your Beloved Children

Surprising to most parents, assets titled as “Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship” are NOT controlled by their Will or Trust. In fact, if you are the first owner to die, you can’t control what happens to that asset.

If you add a spouse who is not the parent of all of your children as a joint owner, you will disinherit your children from a previous relationship.
If you add one child as a joint owner, you will disinherit your other children.

The transfer of ownership takes place immediately upon your death. Even if your Will or Trust directs that you want someone in particular to receive your share of a jointly owned asset, it will still go to the surviving owner. The surviving owner can then do whatever he or she wants with the entire asset.

Here’s an example:

After Robert died, Joan owned their vacation home outright. She remarried a few years later, and she added her new spouse’s name to the title. When Joan died, her children were shocked to learn that the new husband now owned the property, even though their father had always promised it would stay in the family and go to the three of them.

Other Risks of Joint Ownership

While it’s easy to add a co-owner’s name to a title, taking someone’s name off a title can be difficult. If the person does not agree, you could end up in court.
Your assets are exposed to the other owner’s debt and obligations. For example, if you add your adult son on the title of your home and he is successfully sued, you could be forced to sell your home.
There could be serious gift and/or income tax consequences.
If you add a minor as a joint owner, the only way to sell or refinance the asset is through a court guardianship.
If you need to sell or refinance and your co-owner is incapacitated and unable to conduct business, you’ll have to ask the court to appoint someone to sign for your co-owner (even if that co-owner is your spouse). Once the court gets involved, it usually stays involved to protect the incapacitated owner’s interest until the incapacity ends or the person dies.

Actions to Consider

To avoid both inconvenience and tragedy, call our office immediately to set up an appointment and have your asset ownership reviewed.
We will review your asset ownership and explain what will happen to your assets if you become disabled and when you die.
We will show you how to own your assets to best ensure your estate plan works, meaning it does what you think it’s going to do.

Joint ownership with a sibling, life partner, business partner, child, spouse, or anyone else, puts your assets and your children’s inheritance at risk. It may cause significant and unnecessary taxes and cause your estate plan to fail. To avoid both inconvenience and tragedy, you are invited to call our office right now.

Adult Children

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