Preparing for the inevitable

L

lawman

Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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Weatherford, Texas
I need to prepare my family for my death..Went to an estate planning group meeting and wondering if I need to create a trust..We only have one adult child, no debt and we are good financiallly. I live in Texas. I would like to avoid probate..All attornies want to sell trusts whether I need one or not..Also I would be interested in some type of check off list for my wife in the event I go first...Suggestions?
 
Similar situation and I live in Texas too. Basically I have a will they says everything goes to the DW on my death and then on to our DD when we both die. To minimize/eliminate any probate hassles we have POD on just everything. Both the wife and daughter are responsible enough (I hope) that I don't need/want a trust.
 
There is another post on here with suggestions on what info to leave and where.

Savings Accounts, IRAs, Life insurance can all have beneficiaries so that they don't go through Probate.

Some states allow for a beneficiary deed or TOD (Transfer on Death) on homes which would also avoid probate. Check your state.

Do you have a lot of other valuable assets? If not, just getting the above correct should avoid probate. If so, you may need to.

About 2 months before my dad passed, he added my brother as a signer on his main checking account. This helped a lot as my dad became incapacitated and bills had to be paid. He had a separate broker account that none of us was able to get added on before he passed and that did have to go through probate. The process wasn't terrible, just took a few months. He did have a will naming my brother as the executor so that was in place.

cd : O)
 
Car-Guy said:
Similar situation and I live in Texas too. Basically I have a will they says everything goes to the DW on my death and then on to our DD when we both die. To minimize/eliminate any probate hassles we have POD on just everything. Both the wife and daughter are responsible enough (I hope) that I don't need/want a trust.
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Can your wife seel the house without going through probatae?
 
Chris7 said:
There is another post on here with suggestions on what info to leave and where.

Savings Accounts, IRAs, Life insurance can all have beneficiaries so that they don't go through Probate.

Some states allow for a beneficiary deed or TOD (Transfer on Death) on homes which would also avoid probate. Check your state.

Do you have a lot of other valuable assets? If not, just getting the above correct should avoid probate. If so, you may need to.

About 2 months before my dad passed, he added my brother as a signer on his main checking account. This helped a lot as my dad became incapacitated and bills had to be paid. He had a separate broker account that none of us was able to get added on before he passed and that did have to go through probate. The process wasn't terrible, just took a few months. He did have a will naming my brother as the executor so that was in place.

cd : O)
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I got my DF to set up POD on his brokerage account to named beneficiaries, so that was straightforward.

I was on his checking account so that let me manage the bills when he was incapacitated.

The only thing that went through probate was his real property. Probate was quick and easy in small town GA. I think many states now have options to have beneficiaries on real property.
 
I been in this same thinking plan you are for some time now. With research I have done and told by a Family attorney I won't be doing a trust.
An updated Will and Beneficiaries listed on account etc. and TOD all the way you want it is a good plan. POA in place and your kid could be on your checking and accounts if at a bank so they would have easy access.

I have been looking into Family Endowment Fund for another option. It maybe something you could do some research on also. There are 3 different time duration that can be applied. One I believe can be changed by Family members or a board you may pick to over see it. The second has a time lime line attached to it say like 10 years nd it can be changed or continue down that road. And one that is set in stone of your wishes and know one can change the details in this one.

Good luck will be following your thread.
 
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The first and easiest thing to do is designate beneficiaries for your investment accounts. You can choose both primary and secondary beneficiaries in case the primary beneficiary/ies predecease you.

A quick internet search shows that Texas is one of the states where you can use a TOD or beneficiary deed to ensure real estate ownership transfers automatically outside probate.

Sometimes banks (but not brokerages in my experience) will make it difficult to do these kinds of things but by being firm and refusing to complete the process until your preferences are honored you should be able to get them to do it right. We've had this kind of trouble when opening bank CDs (they insisted spouse and I both come into a branch if we wanted the CD in both names or even in one name but TOD the other).
 
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My parents both pre arranged and prepaid their funeral/cremations. I viewed it as the last kind thing they did for me. It took away all of stress at that particular time.

Last year my BIL and sister passed away. They too had prepaid arrangements.

In all four instance I only had to make one phone call each. No undue pressure from funeral directors, no decisions to make.

In our jurisdicion, any assets held in joint ownership immediately pass to the survivor(s) and bypass Probate.
 
Everyone’s situation is different. We have just one adult child. He is the secondary beneficiary ( after my husband and I) on everything except our cars (not allowed in our state) and Treasury Direct account (which doesn’t allow secondary beneficiaries). Our one week annual timeshare he doesn’t have to choose to inherit. Even our home has a TOD.

So we really have no need for a trust.
 
In addition, look online for a Nokbox (Next of Kin) kit. It is a helpful organizational tool to make it much easier for your spouse, child or whoever will be executor, to settle your estate. Easy instructions. Many of my friends bought the lite version and put our own kits together with a designated file box. There may be other brands out there but this is the one we have and it was very satisfying to complete it and know my person will have a few less things to worry about at that time.
 
Just some other things to think about. My father got remarried. He and his new wife had about the same amount of stuff. She was 20 years younger then him. His will left everything to her. She passed first during covid. He was older and distraught and let her familly manage there money. They paid the home bills and he used his pension for food and other stuff. He thought he was broke. Ate ham sandwiches each day and was is such a state of mind that he couldnt work a microwave to reheat food. After visits from his familly, us, it turned out the other side had him sign a new will giving his new wife's family everything. And she had no kids. We , his only kin were written out of the will. He recovered a bit mentally. We moved him into a home where he was happy for the next 2 years. We had him sign a new will splitting his assets 50/50 between his wife's family and ours. When he passed they threatened lawsuits. That never happened but could have. In the end , his estate was a bit of money, but we split it equally. 50/50. And it turned out he had pleanty of money to be in a high end retirement home. And eat whatever he wanted. It was a shame. But when it comes to money and estates, you have no idea of what can happen untill it happens to you.
 
We have prepaid our cremation. I'd like to find a mausoleum and prepay that too.

My parents bought their plot 20 years before they passed, which was very helpful. My dad went into a hospice program about 5 months before he passed. I prepaid for his casket and transportation from PA to CA several months in advance. I also knew the funeral home to use and even the florist, since it was all in the neighborhood where I grew up. We had a gathering after my mom's funeral in the facility where I had my wedding. My dad's gathering was much smaller.

I've started making a list of accounts and information in a NokBox, which was mentioned in a thread in the ER Forum. That thread is "Folder to Leave for Wife" if you're interested.
 
Understand one thing about trusts. You pay filet mignon prices for a basic McCheapo fast food burger. It comes packaged with smoke and mirrors to look like the Magna Carta, but after time, you question 'where's the beef.' Another example is you have a sore throat, go to the clinic and get charged for an open heart.

These are cookie cutter documents with your name and basic instructions, often with sloppy, inaccurate and incomplete work done by the lawyer, rife with errors, deficiencies and omissions as noted previously. As a lay person, we count on 'professionals' to get the job done properly as we don't know what we need. Unfortunately, you have to advocate for yourself and know beforehand what you need in this case because it gets expensive.

I am working on revision/do-over #4 after the first three were done in the prior decade. Most lawyers are a lazy and often dishonest bunch IMHO.

Educate yourself first. It is very expensive and there is no promise you will get a good and honest lawyer.
 
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On my Trust the lawyer and I rewrote it 3 times until we were both happy with it. I signed it and got it notarized. He then said we need to change it again and re do the signatures and notary. It was all included in the original price. I guess its who you use also?
 
Please Double check your POD designations on all your accounts.

When my mom passed her bank said there was no beneficiary assigned. I was with her when she opened the accounts and know she filled out the paperwork. Cost her estate $5000 in legal fees.

I double checked my credit union account and found they had scanned a sheet of paper I was taking notes and doodling on instead of the beneficiaries form.
 
Slim11 said:
On my Trust the lawyer and I rewrote it 3 times until we were both happy with it. I signed it and got it notarized. He then said we need to change it again and re do the signatures and notary. It was all included in the original price. I guess its who you use also?
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No such thing. It's nickel and dime all the way, but in hundreds, if not thousands, for changes.
 
Theophrastus Bombastus said:
These are cookie cutter documents with your name and basic instructions, often with sloppy, inaccurate and incomplete work done by the lawyer, rife with errors, deficiencies and omissions as noted previously. As a lay person, we count on 'professionals' to get the job done properly as we don't know what we need. Unfortunately, you have to advocate for yourself and know beforehand what you need in this case because it gets expensive.
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Same thing on my family trust. I was pushed by my spouse to do the trust as the lawyer recommended it. I wasn't ready and hadn't done any research on them. We had them write one up and send it to us for review. I had many edits, ie the document referred to IRS rules that went away 10 years ago. When I called to ask about corrections and clarifications the assistant was happy to point that out to the lawyer, her boss. When I showed up for the appointment, the lawyer just showed me the NH BAR Association paperback book that he copied it out of. He was not impressed and said he was retiring and had enough of these small issues. We did complete out documents but he did close the firm within a year.

I feel that lawyers used to get high income for legal work, but now there's paperback books, free services, or online / AI services that can do the same thing. Anyone that is seeing their occupation drop has a difficult time working harder for less money.

That legal firm that I worked with was about the 8th firm I tried to do a will with. Several lawyers had me show up to a closed office, no lights on, doors hadn't been opened in a while. Other's never called back. The firm I had my first will done was closed years ago.

I wouldn't do a trust if I had to do it now. The lawyer said the pour over will is usually honored and everything passes to the trust quickly. From what I've seen, that's not true. Probate still needs to be done per law before passing the assets to the trust to be distributed. It's actually more work, possibly employing more lawyers.
 
Texas residents here.
1. We made sure all financial accounts (including 401ks and IRAs) have PODs & Beneficiaries.
2. TODD (Transfer On Death Deed) for home, notorized & filed with the County. Took all of 10 minutes.
3. Beneficiary document on cars for the DMV. I think it's document VTR-121. Pretty sure this doesn't need to be filed, just used to transfer title with a death certificate.

Otherwise we have very little left to fight for (and only 1 DD)... we did everything since she's my DSD & my family (not likely, but could) make a claim if DW passed first.

Not lawyer advice, I just watch lots of courtroom dramas.
 
Had TOD and beneficiaries set up for every account. Nothing for home though.
 
Using a general practice lawyer for a trust is a mistake. Finding an attorney that specializes in Estates and Trusts can be valuable if there are any potential complications in your situation. Trusts should be used if there is any doubt in the trustworthiness of a beneficiary. If there is a blended family, real estate in more than one state, or need of managing care and assets for a surviving spouse.
A trust allows having a trust protector, such as the estate attorney, who can fire a trustee if they are not managing the estate as written in the trust documents. The alternative is a court battle with the executor of the will.
Spending a few thousand dollars on an Estate Attorney is worth it unless you are completely certain everyone in your family has your and your spouse’s best interest at heart.
Never put a child on a deed or brokerage account! They lose the stepped up basis and will likely have to pay capital gains taxes. They can also clean out the brokerage or bank accounts if they choose to.
 
I used an eldercare lawyer to prepare a revocable living trust (& pour-over will) for relatives who had been diagnosed with their respective, terminal illnesses.

With myself as co-trustee (not successor) because in short order they would no longer be capable of managing their personal affairs, much less financial.

The lawyer handled retitling any real estate as part of the fee & I handled retitling financial assets via a DPOA.

The whole point of the above was to move assets ASAP into the trust.

The pour-over will was in case anything got missed.
 
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