Estate Planning - do it

[DaveH]

I just thought I share with you my thoughts on this. My mother passed away a year ago in April. She had done quite a bit of estate planning so some things generally went smoothly, other things less so.

I'm not a lawyer, not an accountant so seek profesional help.

- For real estate consider living trust. This means you transfer property to the kids (or whoever) before death outside of the "estate". So the kids pick right up with the house or etc. with no legal fuss.

- Pay your taxes. Don't leave your estate with a big tax bill from last year.

- Have a checking account that has another persons name in it with some money in it. That way they can pay your bills in the mean time while the estate is being settled.

- Life insurance can take a long time to pay out, so see above have someone that can take over paying your bills.

- Consider funeral expenses. I've gone through this three times in about 7 years, if the grieving family is making arrangements , there is a temptation to just nod your head at the funeral home suggestions. This can be very expensive. It doesn't hurt to plan ahead. Also note that many pre paid funeral funds have been looted by white collar criminals, so be very very careful about pre paying funeral expenses.

- Go through your stuff. Honestly people have too much stuff. It's hard to tell what's meaningful or valuable and what's not. Makes notes about special items so everyone knows. For example we found some old stock certificates stuck in the back of a drawer, ended up being worth quite a bit. Throw out your junk.

- Make sure your beneficiaries are up-to-date on all your policies.

- Find a good accountant and a good lawyer. Make sure your will is up to date and properly filed.

- Make sure all previous property transfers and inheritances are settled and closed.

 

[Gollnick]

After we figured out my mother's estate, I vowed to keep my financial records in easy order so that nobody would have to go through that kind of mess. It's the last courtesy that you can pay to your heirs.

First, have a Will. And get a local lawyer to do it for you -- not some kit off of eBay -- since they know the local procedures and norms and also your state's laws. A basic Will doesn't cost that much.

GOOD life insurance pays promptly. When my father died, Aid Association for Lutherans (now merged into Thrivent) paid a fraction of the settlement before the death certificate was even issued (mother had to sign a promisary note promissing to repay it if dad turned up not dead). Find a policy like this and buy ten to fifty grand worth of it naming someone you trust. This will allow your survivers to pay airline tickets for distant relatives wanting to attend the funeral, the costs of the funeral, etc. easily and have some money to pay your electric bill and water bill and such until the bank frees up your other funds.

Leave instructions and information about obscure property. This is especially important in this forum where many of us have valuable knife collections. I'd be a shame to see an unknowning heir just give your Randall collection to Goodwill because he's not interested in it and has no idea of its worth or how to sell it.

If your heirs are all on good terms, then you really don't need to enumerate every item in your will. You can just leave a separate letter. This IS NOT legally binding. But, if all of your heirs are on good terms and will respect such a letter than it can save you a lot on your will. My mother did this. My brothers and I followed her letter almost to the word. There were one or two items where mother said one of us should have something and that person said, "I really don't want it," and another said, "I've always admired that," and it was done. Mother said, in her letter, that I should take her five-year-old Ford Taurus. At the time she wrote the letter, I was driving very well-worn Olds that was beyond its last leg. Months before she passed, I replaced the Olds with a new Mercedes. Mother never updated her letter. So, I just said, "Guys, let's just sell the Taurus and split the money." And so we did. But it was all mutually agreed to. If you think your heirs have such a good relationship, then you might consider the letter approach, at least for the small stuff.

 

[Bob W]

If you think your heirs have such a good relationship, then you might consider the letter approach, at least for the small stuff.

My grandmother had labels on everything in the house with peoples' names.

-Bob

 

[fruitbat]

Very good advice.:thumbup:

It's been a few years ago, but I lost my mother and my inlaws in the span of 3 years. When we where taking care of the estates, everyone said we should be glad our parents did all that stuff. They said it was a nightmare when it wasn't done. My wife and I have done ours, including a living will and power of attorney