Congratulations on having completed your estate planning! It is a difficult, sometimes emotional undertaking for many people, but the peace of mind found on the other side of the process is worth it. Give yourself some more peace by knowing that all ends are wrapped up and your plan is truly ready to be called into action, at the moment where it’s most needed by those you love.
Wrap Up Loose Ends
Be sure it was properly executed! Texas law has many requirements when it comes to validly executing (signing) your will. If you worked with an attorney, they guided you through the steps and ensured that these legal requirements were met, in most cases. If you went the DIY route, however, there may have been issues with the signing. Biggest red flag to be aware of: Family members who acted as witnesses! If this happened, call me for a review of how it will affect your plan.
Complete Trust Funding
Once a Trust is established, your assets need to reflect that the Trust, rather than yourself individually, is now the owner. If you worked with an attorney, they likely handled the transfer of your real estate into the trust, You know this is done by having a recorded deed that reflects the transfer of ownership into the name of your trust. You should have touched, or at least reviewed all of your financial accounts (including investments and retirement) during the funding process. If you are concerned something was overlooked, start with the attorney you worked with, or feel free to contact me with your funding questions. A trust that is not properly funded may end up as expensive paper and no more. Don’t fall into this trap by failing to fund your trust you took time, care and expense to design and put into place!
Add a List of Your Holdings
Wherever you keep your estate planning documents (my clients have a binder or small document envelope to maintain at the end, you may have a similar binder), be sure to add in a simple list of your holdings. Outline the banks you have accounts at, who manages your investments, retirement accounts, etc. This does not have to contain sensitive details such as full account numbers, but can indicate the basics, such as perhaps last 4 numbers of the account, for identification purposes, and any other relevant information, such as designated beneficiaries, etc.
Give Access to Key Players
Be sure that those people who are instrumental to your plan can access all of your documents in the event of an emergency. So, the people that you listed as your back-up Trustees, or your Executors should know where you keep your documents, and how to access them. Tip: If you keep your documents in a safety deposit box, you will need to add someone as a co-signer or authorized party to access contents, otherwise a court order will be required just to search through the safety deposit box to determine if your will is in there.
Make It Personal
The approach for this important task is different for each client, but many choose to write letters to loved ones, or record stories to leave behind (can be done in a voice note on your phone, or with a simple video recording on a phone now – very easy and meaningful, even if you feel silly!). These stories and personalized letters or notes can be the most valuable part of your planning, from an emotional standpoint. If something happened to you today, what would you want to be able to say to those most important to you? Write it out and leave it in a sealed envelope in your binder, if you are worried about prying eyes. Or you can leave them elsewhere with access directions in a note to your Executor or Trustee. The options here are endless, consider what your family would most appreciate but know that whatever you choose it WILL be appreciated by those you may leave behind.
Review It Again Next Year
Oftentimes, people will sign a will or trust and mentally check it off their task list, to be forgotten and never reviewed again. This can lead to a messy, expensive process after they pass away if things in the family changed and were not reflected in the documents. Avoid this mess by reviewing your documents annually, or at least every other year. Better yet, keep a cheat sheet of the key people and terms of your documents handy, to easily review as changes occur. If you are unsure about whether a change in the family (death, marriage, birth, divorce, etc) requires a change in your documents, reach out to me or to your own attorney and ask! There may be no need for any change, but there could be some new options that you are unaware of as well, so always check to make sure your estate plan works exactly as intended when it is needed.
If you have questions about any of these steps, feel free to reach out. Congratulations again on getting your estate plan in place!
