For those of you with a New Year’s resolution to do a little estate planning, here is what my dad did right and wrong regarding his own estate (IMO):
What he did right:
• he hired a lawyer specializing in estate planning to draft his will & revocable trust, and kept the documents up-to-date
• he transferred all of his titled assets into his revocable trust - no probate proceeding was required to settle his estate
• he gave his kids signature authority for all of his checking accounts
• he made his kids co-owners of his safety deposit boxes
• he allowed me to monitor (but not do transactions within) his brokerage account while he was alive. He planned to add me as co-trustee of his revocable trust but it didn’t happen before he died. This wasn’t a big deal - I had no trouble taking over as successor trustee after he died.
• before he died he disposed of all assets that might have required an appraisal had they remained in his estate.
• he left behind instructions on how to log into his computer and phone
• he left behind a file on his computer containing info on how to log into all of his bank, credit card, brokerage, IRS, and other misc accounts. He had literally hundreds of these accounts.
• the files on his computer were “reasonably” well-organized.
• he and his girlfriend were talking about co-habiting the year or so before he died, but it never happened.
• he and his girlfriend were talking about marriage the year or so before he died. He insisted on a pre-nup; she refused. The result - no marriage.
What he did wrong:
• the word “declutter” wasn’t part of his vocabulary. If you are keeping restaurant receipts from the 1970s, perhaps it’s time to toss them. He wasn’t a hoarder, exactly, but all of his properties had ample storage space and he didn’t hesitate to use it.
• he started a business (a property rental) as a charitable project for his girlfriend. He complained about how much more complicated this made his own taxes, and I was left to clean up the mess. Should folks in their 80s be starting a new business?
Summary:
• I might complain about the 600+ hours I’ve spent settling my dad’s estate so far, but after creating this post I realize that things could have been much worse. I should count my blessings.
Additional Recommendation:
• if the lawyer you hire to help settle an estate pushes the idea that you should use the lawyer’s in-house accountant and/or title company, just say no. Lesson learned!
What he did right:
• he hired a lawyer specializing in estate planning to draft his will & revocable trust, and kept the documents up-to-date
• he transferred all of his titled assets into his revocable trust - no probate proceeding was required to settle his estate
• he gave his kids signature authority for all of his checking accounts
• he made his kids co-owners of his safety deposit boxes
• he allowed me to monitor (but not do transactions within) his brokerage account while he was alive. He planned to add me as co-trustee of his revocable trust but it didn’t happen before he died. This wasn’t a big deal - I had no trouble taking over as successor trustee after he died.
• before he died he disposed of all assets that might have required an appraisal had they remained in his estate.
• he left behind instructions on how to log into his computer and phone
• he left behind a file on his computer containing info on how to log into all of his bank, credit card, brokerage, IRS, and other misc accounts. He had literally hundreds of these accounts.
• the files on his computer were “reasonably” well-organized.
• he and his girlfriend were talking about co-habiting the year or so before he died, but it never happened.
• he and his girlfriend were talking about marriage the year or so before he died. He insisted on a pre-nup; she refused. The result - no marriage.
What he did wrong:
• the word “declutter” wasn’t part of his vocabulary. If you are keeping restaurant receipts from the 1970s, perhaps it’s time to toss them. He wasn’t a hoarder, exactly, but all of his properties had ample storage space and he didn’t hesitate to use it.
• he started a business (a property rental) as a charitable project for his girlfriend. He complained about how much more complicated this made his own taxes, and I was left to clean up the mess. Should folks in their 80s be starting a new business?
Summary:
• I might complain about the 600+ hours I’ve spent settling my dad’s estate so far, but after creating this post I realize that things could have been much worse. I should count my blessings.
Additional Recommendation:
• if the lawyer you hire to help settle an estate pushes the idea that you should use the lawyer’s in-house accountant and/or title company, just say no. Lesson learned!