Mike Wells: A gift to your survivors: Getting your affairs in order now
August 1st, 2021 by admin
This is the third of a three-column series to discuss commonsense ways to plan your estate and to avoid many unforced, and sometimes very expensive, errors.
- Do you know where your original documents are?
Many people do not realize that just a copy of a will is not sufficient when the time comes. (There is one rare, but expensive, exception.)
If you choose to put your original will in a bank lockbox, be sure there is someone else’s name on the contract which will allow another trusted person access after you pass to retrieve it to begin the estate administration process.
If you have a home safe to which your spouse or trusted loved one has the key (or pass code), that can work. There is also an old law which provides original wills can be stored at the courthouse while you are living. But this process has proven to be very impractical and a bit clunky to use.
Many law firms that help citizens prepare their estate-planning documents will agree to store original documents for clients as a courtesy in a fireproof filing cabinet at no expense to the clients. Ask the lawyer if their firm has that courtesy option, although I have never known of a law firm that doesn’t provide this option as a courtesy.
The challenge with having original documents at home in a non-secure location is that some family members may have access to them. This happens infrequently, but for this reason, most lawyers lean toward keeping original documents in a fully secure location.
- What are your assets, and do the appropriate family members know where to find a secure list of them?
Ask your lawyer for a simple form to list your major assets and the contact person for each financial account.
- Have you planned for your funeral and related matters at the time of your passing?
Pre-paid funeral expense plans are often available, which can lock in costs, and generally that contract can be transferred to another community should you move to another location to be closer to your now out-of-town/state children. Call your organization of choice and ask its representative what happens if your contract is pre-paid, and you move to another community.
- How often should one review their estate-planning documents?
If there has been a change in the people whom you want to get your property at the time of your passing, or to oversee your affairs as provided in your documents, you should update them, and promptly. You do not need to update your legal documents every time the legislature tweaks a law or two. But if you have a financial (durable) power of attorney which was executed before 2018, when there was a major change in those statutes, or your documents provide (now outdated and unnecessary) estate tax planning, those documents likely should be updated. Otherwise, every seven to 10 years are good time markers.
Call the lawyer who prepared your documents and ask if there have been any significant changes in the law to warrant any possible updates. If another lawyer prepared the documents, such as when you move from another city, ask your local lawyer to give those documents a quick review as a courtesy to you.
When one passes, it is a time of great loss, as we all know. But it is a time of celebration of a life well lived. Focus on the good of one’s life, and their faith, if they are a person of faith. Your family and loved ones left behind can concentrate then on what is truly important when your affairs are fully in order.
Remember: An informed choice is a smart choice.
This article was originally written by Mike Wells and published by the Winston-Salem Journal. To read the full article, visit the Winston-Salem Journal online here.Posted in: WS Journal Articles