Michigan Estate Planning Blog

The Team Behind a Successful Estate Plan

 

 

Most advisors stick with their areas of knowledge. The estate planning attorney drafts the necessary documents, your CPA files tax returns and the investment advisor fine tunes assets. However, coordinating these professional silos is critical to ensuring your estate plan works, says a recent article from Forbes, “Your Estate Plan Must Be Coordinated To Work.”

Communication needs to extend past advisors to key loved ones and people you name in roles, such as agents, trustees and executors. Many people find these discussions awkward. However, preparing heirs and fiduciaries for their roles and setting expectations is a crucial step to avoid issues during transition periods. Some of the most significant estate planning problems arise when the baton is passed, such as if you fall and become incapacitated. You need to be sure your agents know what is expected of them and when they will be called upon to perform their respective tasks.

Coordinating advisor actions will save time and expense in the long run. Your estate planning attorney, CPA, trust officer, wealth advisor and insurance broker should know what each other is doing on your behalf. Many people shy away from doing this because of concerns about cost. However, not doing it can lead to much larger expenses.

You want to foster coordination and collaboration, in a controlled and cost-effective manner. One way to do this is to have advisors prepare a summary of key points, facts and decisions following your meetings, so you can circulate it to other advisors. This way they all know what is being done and can share their knowledge and experience if they think something is wrong or won’t work as planned.

One example of what can happen when advisors are not coordinated is paying bills from incorrect accounts. For instance, if you incur legal fees for the estate plan but pay them from a trust account or business entity, a creditor could argue this is a personal benefit from a trust you are not a beneficiary of, or you’ve violated the business purpose of an entity, which could expose all trust or entity assets.

Your estate planning attorney should know how your assets are titled, which are owned jointly, or other designations used to avoid the terms of your will and/or any trusts. Beneficiary designations, wills and titles must be planned and coordinated to avoid derailing your estate plan.

If you die and an asset is owned in your name only, the asset will go through probate and be distributed according to the terms of your will. If you are incapacitated, your agent, under your financial Power of Attorney, must act concerning the asset to help pay bills.

Many people opt to have assets held in a joint name so that on death, the asset will pass to the named joint owner without going through the will and probate. If the person named as the joint owner is not the same as the POA, you may have created a logistical nightmare. How will the POA pay bills if the joint owner does not cooperate?

Coordinating professional advisers is as important as coordinating family members. There are many different agents and positions to be appointed. People often sign a financial POA with their estate planning attorney, and no one looks closely at any conflicting appointments.

The same kind of issues occur with health care agents. There are several different health care documents, and you’ll want to coordinate them to eliminate the possibility of conflicting appointments. The key to achieving this is diligence, communication and follow-up.

Reference: Forbes (Oct. 31, 2023) “Your Estate Plan Must Be Coordinated To Work”

 

The Perils of Joint Tenancy Saginaw, Michigan

Eliminating the need for probate is a goal for many clients. Joint tenancy, a form of co-ownership, is one tool that can help achieve this goal. When one co-owner dies, his interest in the real property automatically passes to the surviving co-owner, thereby, eliminating the need for probate. Joint tenancy can, however, have its perils and must not be entered into lightly. Control Issues: By providing someone with co-ownership, you give them control of your asset. For example, if you add another person as co-owner of your home, you cannot sell or mortgage the home unless that person agrees. Creditor Issues: If creditors seek out your co-owner for outstanding debts owed, the creditors may be able to obtain part of your home or bank account held in joint tenancy. Relationship Issues: If you and your co-owner experience a falling out, the co-owner may be able to take all of the money out of the bank account. Substitute for Will Issues: Parents of several children may place one child’s name on an account and assume she will divide assets equally among all siblings. Unfortunately, this method provides no stipulations over control of the money. The surviving co-owner can do with it what she pleases, with no legal obligation. Tax Issues: Careful planning to eliminate or reduce estate taxes can be completely thwarted by a joint tenancy that passes property outright to a surviving joint owner. Long-term Care Issues: Thoughtful planning to reduce long-term care financing can also be thwarted by a joint tenancy that passes property outright to a surviving joint owner. Marriage Issues: Individual property may become marital property once it is transferred into a joint tenancy.

JOINT OWNERSHIP - HIDDEN PITFALLS TO AVOID

Estate planning can be daunting. Once you get past the fact that your very mortality (and morbidity) is the triggering event, estate planning means taking stock of all you own and, what is often more important, how you own it. Yes, there are many degrees of ownership and each can make for some difficult wrinkles. One common phenomenon is joint ownership between generations. Not only is it common, but it can make for some unintended problems. Forbes recently ran a piece on some of these problems and the five reasons to avoid such ownership form. Let’s review some of the high points, but I would commend the full article to your reading file. Joint ownership oftentimes is an attempt to simplify things, or at least that is why people use it as a means of holding title. Perhaps they want to simplify practical day-to-day financial management. Aging parents needing such help may add an adult child’s name to a bank account or investment, either for direct aid or for just assisting in managing the accounts or assets. Likewise, it could be done as an attempt to avoid probate. Adding the adult child’s name to the account, investment, or real estate as a form of will-substitute (a so-called “poor man’s will”). Of course, these are only simple solutions, and may actually work, when things go off without a hitch. One problem to remember is joint-ownership is a two-way street. That means that adult child joint owner has equal ownership rights to the assets and so do any of that adult child’s financial predators. The adult child may have their own creditors, may be facing an acrimonious divorce, or may be sued for damages in civil court. In addition, while no parent would anticipate it, the adult child may use the jointly owned bank account for a “quick loan” when they are running a little short of cash. Any of these unintended consequences can not only jeopardize the financial independence of an aging parent, but can cause hard feeling among other adult children who may (or may not) be joint owners with their parent. Another problem, especially from an estate planning perspective, is that joint ownership as a stop-gap or a will-substitute is not really estate planning and may run afoul of the parent’s actual estate distribution wishes. For example, the adult child who has joint ownership doesn’t have to share such assets upon the parent’s death. As you can imagine, it is very easy for such cases to spill over into family squabbles and even prolonged court-cases. Sometimes joint ownership seems like a good idea and a quick fix to avoid probate. And, sometimes it is. Before you use joint ownership as a form of titling your assets, however, consider the drawbacks. In the end, an estate planning attorney can help you determine whether joint ownership is appropriate under your unique circumstances. Remember: Look before you leap. The protection of your assets and family relationships are at stake.

You can learn more about Joint Ownership in the January issue of our free e-newsletter, “Joint Tenancy Troubles.” Visit our website and sign up to receive this valuable update for free every month.

Reference:  Forbes (September 13, 2011) “Top 5 Reasons to Beware of Joint Ownership Between Generations”

JOINT OWNERSHIP - HIDDEN PITFALLS TO AVOID IS JOINT OWNERSHIP.

Estate planning can be daunting. Once you get past the fact that your very mortality (and morbidity) is the triggering event, estate planning means taking stock of all you own and, what is often more important, how you own it. Yes, there are many degrees of ownership and each can make for some difficult wrinkles. One common phenomenon is joint ownership between generations. Not only is it common, but it can make for some unintended problems. Forbes recently ran a piece on some of these problems and the five reasons to avoid such ownership form. Let’s review some of the high points, but I would commend the full article to your reading file. Joint ownership oftentimes is an attempt to simplify things, or at least that is why people use it as a means of holding title. Perhaps they want to simplify practical day-to-day financial management. Aging parents needing such help may add an adult child’s name to a bank account or investment, either for direct aid or for just assisting in managing the accounts or assets. Likewise, it could be done as an attempt to avoid probate. Adding the adult child’s name to the account, investment, or real estate as a form of will-substitute (a so-called “poor man’s will”). Of course, these are only simple solutions, and may actually work, when things go off without a hitch. One problem to remember is joint-ownership is a two-way street. That means that adult child joint owner has equal ownership rights to the assets and so do any of that adult child’s financial predators. The adult child may have their own creditors, may be facing an acrimonious divorce, or may be sued for damages in civil court. In addition, while no parent would anticipate it, the adult child may use the jointly owned bank account for a “quick loan” when they are running a little short of cash. Any of these unintended consequences can not only jeopardize the financial independence of an aging parent, but can cause hard feeling among other adult children who may (or may not) be joint owners with their parent. Another problem, especially from an estate planning perspective, is that joint ownership as a stop-gap or a will-substitute is not really estate planning and may run afoul of the parent’s actual estate distribution wishes. For example, the adult child who has joint ownership doesn’t have to share such assets upon the parent’s death. As you can imagine, it is very easy for such cases to spill over into family squabbles and even prolonged court-cases. Sometimes joint ownership seems like a good idea and a quick fix to avoid probate. And, sometimes it is. Before you use joint ownership as a form of titling your assets, however, consider the drawbacks. In the end, an estate planning attorney can help you determine whether joint ownership is appropriate under your unique circumstances. Remember: Look before you leap. The protection of your assets and family relationships are at stake.
Reference:  Forbes (September 13, 2011) “Top 5 Reasons to Beware of Joint Ownership Between Generations”

JOINT OWNERSHIP - HIDDEN PITFALLS TO AVOID

Estate planning can be daunting. Once you get past the fact that your very mortality (and morbidity) is the triggering event, estate planning means taking stock of all you own and, what is often more important, how you own it. Yes, there are many degrees of ownership and each can make for some difficult wrinkles. One common phenomenon is joint ownership between generations. Not only is it common, but it can make for some unintended problems. Forbes recently ran a piece on some of these problems and the five reasons to avoid such ownership form. Let’s review some of the high points, but I would commend the full article to your reading file. Joint ownership oftentimes is an attempt to simplify things, or at least that is why people use it as a means of holding title. Perhaps they want to simplify practical day-to-day financial management. Aging parents needing such help may add an adult child’s name to a bank account or investment, either for direct aid or for just assisting in managing the accounts or assets. Likewise, it could be done as an attempt to avoid probate. Adding the adult child’s name to the account, investment, or real estate as a form of will-substitute (a so-called “poor man’s will”). Of course, these are only simple solutions, and may actually work, when things go off without a hitch. One problem to remember is joint-ownership is a two-way street. That means that adult child joint owner has equal ownership rights to the assets and so do any of that adult child’s financial predators. The adult child may have their own creditors, may be facing an acrimonious divorce, or may be sued for damages in civil court. In addition, while no parent would anticipate it, the adult child may use the jointly owned bank account for a “quick loan” when they are running a little short of cash. Any of these unintended consequences can not only jeopardize the financial independence of an aging parent, but can cause hard feeling among other adult children who may (or may not) be joint owners with their parent. Another problem, especially from an estate planning perspective, is that joint ownership as a stop-gap or a will-substitute is not really estate planning and may run afoul of the parent’s actual estate distribution wishes. For example, the adult child who has joint ownership doesn’t have to share such assets upon the parent’s death. As you can imagine, it is very easy for such cases to spill over into family squabbles and even prolonged court-cases. Sometimes joint ownership seems like a good idea and a quick fix to avoid probate. And, sometimes it is. Before you use joint ownership as a form of titling your assets, however, consider the drawbacks. In the end, an estate planning attorney can help you determine whether joint ownership is appropriate under your unique circumstances. Remember: Look before you leap. The protection of your assets and family relationships are at stake. You can learn more about Joint Ownership in the January issue of our free e-newsletter, “Joint Tenancy Troubles.” Visit our website and sign up to receive this valuable update for free every month.

Reference:  Forbes (September 13, 2011) “Top 5 Reasons to Beware of Joint Ownership Between Generations”