by gturnercontentcustoms | Oct 19, 2022 | Estate Administration

When you become a parent, you dream of watching your children graduate from high school or get married someday. It can be painful and make you very emotional to think about the possibility that you die before you get to witness your child’s major milestones.

Although many parents will live to see the birth of grandchildren and beyond, some parents die while their children are still very young. In such situations, legal guardians named by the parent prior to their death can assume responsibility for the children and help raise them to adulthood.

The person that you choose as guardian will have a profound impact on your child if they must ever assume that role. What do you need to consider to choose the right person?

Their behavior and personality

You probably know a dozen people or more who might serve as good guardians for your children. You need to consider not just your closest family members, such as your siblings, but also more distant family members, like cousins, or even close family friends.

The most important considerations are not the current relationship between the guardian and the child but rather the behavior and personality of the guardian. You need someone who is trustworthy, compassionate and responsible. The wrong person could embezzle your child’s inheritance or abuse your children. They might also refuse the responsibility when the time comes.

Their willingness to step up for your kids

Failing to talk with possible guardians about your choice could be a major mistake. No matter how good of a relationship you have with someone or how compassionate they may be, they may have something in their life that could prevent them from providing for your children.

They might have a health condition, for example, that they know will continue to worsen in the next few years. You need to discuss guardianship with the people you think might fit the rule and ensure that they are in agreement about accepting that responsibility.

Their age and health

Siblings and other family members are often not the best choices because they could share the same health issues as you or be at an age where they may not reliably be able to take care of your child.

Older siblings in particular could be at an age where taking care of an infant could be prohibitively difficult. Health concerns could also limit someone’s ability to take care of your children, even if they are willing and mentally capable of the task.

After considering all of the factors that matter to your family, you can name a guardian in your will. You can also provide an alternate option in case of some unforeseeable complication. Selecting a guardian for your children is one of the most important steps in estate planning for parents.

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by monte.olmsted@thomsonreuters.com | Sep 7, 2022 | Estate Administration

Whether you are creating a will or updating this important document that transfers your assets to beneficiaries upon your death, you understand the important decisions involved. One of them is choosing an executor.

Who should that person be? It does not have to be your spouse, parent, brother, sister, son, daughter or another relative. In some situations, this list of people may be the least likely candidates to fulfill the complicated and time-consuming duties of an executor. You need someone with the right characteristics.

Trustworthy, available and savvy

Among the characteristics to strongly consider when choosing an executor include:

• Trustworthy and dependable: Whether your assets are abundant or modest, you still need someone who you can count on to oversee your estate and fulfill your wishes.
• Even-tempered: Having a calm and level-headed person in your corner works to your advantage. This trait will come in handy with rising challenges such as settling disputes among heirs.
• Patient: It may take a year or longer to settle an estate, so you want an executor who has can complete the extensive list of duties that include settling the estate, paying outstanding bills and taxes, locating and distributing property, and locating heirs.
• Availability: Make sure this person has the time and room in his or her life to perform an executor’s duties.
• Financially savvy: Having someone who has experience dealing with investments and finances is another important advantage.
• Confident and comfortable: The goal is to successfully complete an executor’s duties and settle the estate. A person who knows that they can accomplish these tasks is a solid ally.
• Solid organization skills: Many tasks call for someone who can prioritize them and be organized.

With a dependable executor, the probate process may go much more smoothly.

Someone who understands the responsibility

Take careful consideration when choosing an executor. You want your estate in the hands and under the watchful eyes of a person who has the ability and understands the responsibility of this significant role.

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by l.atkins@thomsonreuters.com | Aug 19, 2022 | Estate Administration

Not long ago, it was unusual for someone to have more than one or two bank accounts. Now that internet banking has become more prevalent, you will likely have several accounts with different intended purposes.

There are many assets to consider when you create an estate plan. In addition to your real property and other more considerable assets, you will need to plan for your various accounts, including your digital assets. Digital assets are easy to forget since they seem to manage themselves.

Here’s what you should know about including your digital assets in your estate plan.

If they don’t know, they don’t know

One of the challenges with distributing digital assets when they are not in the estate plan is that your loved ones may not know they need to look for them. For you, investing in a high-yield internet account or a cryptocurrency may have been a passing fad. Still, for your family, they are another asset that needs to get through the probate process.

Including your digital assets (and how to access them) in your estate plan means that your family knows about the investment and what you want them to do with it.

Knowing what it inheritable

Digital assets can also include your digital media accounts. While there used to be a time when you could include your music and movies in your will and your loved one would take home a few boxes, the situation is different with digital media.

You will need to review the terms of your digital media account to determine what you can do with your digital assets. Sometimes, you can download your assets and pass them on with an external hard drive or other media storage device. However, there are some accounts where you cannot pass on the media at all.

You should talk to a skilled professional about your assets and what you should include in your estate plan. It is important to be thorough so that your loved ones know what assets should be part of your will.

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by gturnercontentcustoms | Aug 18, 2022 | Estate Administration

Children are typically the main beneficiaries of a parent’s estate plan. Especially when they are still minors, you will want to ensure that they have adequate protection until they reach adulthood if you are not there to care for them.

Too many parents fall into the trap of assuming their family will be fine because their spouse will take over if anything happens to them. What updates or inclusions to your estate plan will help you better protect the children in your family?

Naming a guardian in your will

It can be a daunting task to decide on the right person to take over your parental responsibilities if anything happens to you. However, if you don’t take the time to pick someone, there may not be anyone willing or able to take that responsibility in a tragic situation where you die young. When you take the time to choose a guardian for your children, you provide them with the best support possible if anything happens to you.

Consider creating a trust

A will can allow you to leave property to your children or name a guardian for them, but it won’t prevent their guardian from misusing that inheritance before they turn 18. A trust is an additional layer of protection against financial abuse and misconduct by caregivers.

You can create firm limitations on the use of trust assets so that there are resources for your children when they turn 18. The trustee that you name can also be an important source of oversight for the guardian caring for your children.

Review your life insurance

Children aren’t in a position to financially support themselves the way that a spouse is if anything happens to you. They will be fully dependent on the guardian you name and the resources you leave for them.

While you may have only worried about caring enough life insurance to pay for your own funeral previously, you may now need to think about paying off all of your credit card debt and providing resources for your children until they reach the age of 18. Additionally, you want to make sure that you update the beneficiary of your life insurance so that your children can receive those assets.

Making the right estate planning changes when you add children to your family will help ensure their safety and well-being, come what may.

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by sushmitha.p@thomsonreuters.com | Apr 28, 2022 | Estate Administration

The duties of an executor are critical to estate administration. A checklist of tasks includes settling the estate, settling disputes among heirs and paying creditors.

There really is no room for mistakes in an estate settlement, which may take more than a year. However, mistakes, oversights and questionable decisions sometimes surface among executors.

Simply failing to perform the duties

Here are some of the mistakes that executors may make:

• Keeping heirs and beneficiaries in the dark: The executor has a legal duty to keep everyone connected with the estate informed. Sharing updates on the probate process is essential.
• Failing to do the job: The executor role has many responsibilities that require prompt attention. For example, they must pay outstanding taxes and bills, track down heirs and distribute assets. This person must take this job seriously.
• Favoring certain heirs: An executor should not play favorites. Doing so by providing “under-the-table” assets could lead to this person’s removal.
• Ignoring or not understanding personal liability: If an executor fails to perform the necessary duties, he or she may face a lawsuit for breach of fiduciary duty.
• Self-dealing: This borders on criminal behavior when an executor puts his or her interests before the interests of the estate. This person may decide that he or she is entitled to certain assets such as a car, boat, cabin and money. Expect another lawsuit for breach of fiduciary duty.

A reliable, trustworthy, devoted and hard-working person should serve as executor. Do not tolerate sloppiness, avoidance and questionable judgment.

Seeking a solid conclusion

If you are uncomfortable as to how the executor performs or fails to perform the duties, you as beneficiary should promptly remove this person from this vital role in estate administration. You and the other beneficiaries want a satisfactory conclusion.

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by jessica.freeburg@thomsonreuters.com | Nov 8, 2021 | Estate Administration

If you have built up a real estate portfolio or have a home that you would like to pass on to your beneficiaries, now is the time to look at how you can protect that real estate in your estate plan. One of the better ways to do this is by placing your home into a trust. Real estate trusts help you establish whom you’d like to receive your property upon your death and may prevent your real estate holdings from being taken by creditors or others when they seek payment for debts.

Not all real estate trusts are the same, but at their core, they are designed to pass on your assets to the correct beneficiaries without having to go through probate. Living trusts allow you to pass on ownership while you’re alive. More commonly, people elect to use trusts that pass on property once they die.

Why use a trust instead of a will to pass on your property?

You should use a trust instead of a will to pass on your property because of the extra protections that a trust provides. Your trust likely will not need to go through probate, is private and is designed to handle costlier, more valuable assets.

Should you choose a revocable or irrevocable real estate trust?

A revocable trust is one that you can change or cancel at any time. Irrevocable trusts can’t be altered in the future, so your decisions now will need to be firm. You might consider having an irrevocable trust if you’re dealing with a life-threatening or terminal illness, for example, and know that you want to pass on the property to a certain person. You’ll no longer own your property once you do this.

Find out more about protecting your assets

It’s beneficial to talk to someone about trusts and how they could help you reduce your taxable estate and protect your investments. Setting up a real estate trust is just one option to consider. There are also other opportunities to protect and pass on your investments that you may want to discuss as you work on your estate plan.

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