Michigan Estate Planning Blog

How to Create an Estate Plan That Works

 

An estate plan tells your loved ones and the courts how you want to divide your property, as well as protecting heirs from the expenses and stress created when there is no estate plan. According to a recent article from AOL, “Estate planning checklist: 7 key steps to making a successful plan,” an estate plan also saves your family from months, even years, of dealing with courts and government bureaucracies in settling your estate.

How to start? Follow these steps.

Make a complete inventory of your assets, both tangible and intangible. This means real estate, cars, financial accounts, digital assets, life insurance, retirement accounts, pension accounts and personal property. Save your heirs from a scavenger hunt and protect assets from being lost.

Decide who you want to care for your family. If you have children who are underage, name a guardian in your will. The guardian often serves as the conservator, managing the children's financial assets. Check on your life insurance policies, which provide funds for your family after you’ve passed.

Ask potential executors if they are willing to do the work. The executor carries out directions in your will. It can be a big responsibility. They’ll need to gather and manage assets, notify heirs, Social Security, Medicare, pay estate taxes, secure and possibly sell your home, and more.

Have an experienced estate planning attorney set up at least three key elements: a will, power of attorney and advance healthcare directive.

The Will names a guardian and an executor and gives directions for distributing assets. The biggest estate planning mistake people make is not having a will. When this happens, the court assigns someone to manage your estate, and your family will have to live with whatever the court-appointed person decides.

A Power of Attorney allows someone to care for your business affairs if incapacitated. A Medical Power of Attorney, or Healthcare Proxy, will enable you to name someone to be involved with your healthcare, speak with your doctors and health insurance company and help make decisions for you. These documents should be customized to convey your wishes as to how much or how little you want these people to be able to do.

An advanced healthcare directive is used to state your wishes if you are incapacitated about what kind of treatment you do or don’t want to receive if you are at the end of your life. For instance, if you don’t want to be resuscitated or if you don’t want CPR to be performed, this information goes into the AHD. This document can be challenging to consider. However, it is a blessing to spare your family from having to guess your wishes during a time of crisis.

Discuss the use of a trust with an estate planning attorney. Trusts are not just for wealthy people. Some trusts take assets from your taxable estate and distribute them directly to beneficiaries outside of probate. Many kinds of trusts serve different purposes, so your estate planning attorney will help you understand which is best for your purposes.

Determine who to leave your assets to and how to structure your estate. If you have young children and you don’t establish the correct trusts, they may inherit everything when they turn 18 or 21. This is rarely a good idea.

Tax planning is a part of estate planning. While you may not face federal taxes, your state may have its estate tax, and some states still have inheritance taxes. Rates and exemptions are different in every state.

The incapacity planning part of an estate plan is for you. However, the rest is for your family, to take care of them and show them how much you care about them and their futures.

Reference: AOL (Feb. 4, 2025) “Estate planning checklist: 7 key steps to making a successful plan”

Do I Need a Will?

 

 

Even after living through the global COVID pandemic, many people still don’t understand why they need a will and estate planning documents. One survey revealed as many as 40% thought they didn’t need an estate plan because they don’t have enough assets, says a recent article from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Elder Law Guys: Having a will can bring peace, for you and your loved ones.” Even more worrisome, many of these people have minor children, who will be left unprotected if there is no will naming a guardian for them if their parents should die.

We’ve all read the stories of estate battles following the death of rich and famous people. Regardless of their age, marital status, or notoriety, their personal lives and finances became public headlines without a will and estate planning.

Regular people don’t want their loved ones to go through the mess of an estate battle, even if their personal news won’t become hot news on the internet. Here’s what to do to protect yourself and your family.

Make an inventory of your property. Include everything: your home, bank and investment accounts, personal possessions, retirement funds, life insurance, cars, boats and shares in a family business. Listing out who gets what in your will can avoid some (but not all) fights among relatives and siblings.
Even if you rent a home, if you’re employed and have a 401(k) and a bank account, you’ll want to be sure the people you care about inherit your property.

If yours is a blended family, or if you and your partner aren’t married, estate planning is even more critical. Estate planning is how you ensure that your biological children inherit your assets. If you’re not married, you need to take extra care, so you and your partner protect each other in case of a health emergency as well as for property distribution after death.

For parents of young children, a will is essential. Your will is the document used to name who you want to raise your children—a guardian. Without it, the court will decide, and it may not be the person you would have wanted. Your estate plan is also how you determine how children’s living costs will be paid. Your life insurance policy might belong in a trust, with a trustee named to oversee how funds are distributed to the guardians.

Your will is also used to name an executor, the person who will administer your estate, distribute assets, pay final taxes and estate taxes and ensure that your wishes are followed. An executor needs to be organized, responsible and trustworthy.

An estate plan should include documents to protect you while you are living. These include a Power of Attorney for financial and legal decisions in case of incapacity. A Healthcare Proxy or Medical Power of Attorney is needed so another person can be involved in your medical care, if you’re unable to speak for yourself. An experienced estate planning attorney will also discuss the need for a Living Will and other documents you might want to have.

The peace of mind resulting from having an estate plan in place can’t be measured. Knowing that you’ve protected your loved ones and yourself in life and after you’ve passed is a worthwhile investment.

Reference: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Sept. 22, 2024) “Elder Law Guys: Having a will can bring peace, for you and your loved ones”

Are CDs Good for My Estate Plan?

 

Certificates of deposit (CDs) are a low-risk way of saving funds for the short term and earning a modest return on it. When you take out a standard CD, your bank or credit union guarantees that they will pay you a set return on your money. In exchange, you agree to leave your money untouched in the account.

Investopedia’s recent article, “Can You Bypass Probate With CDs?” says that because CDs are a low-risk, time-constrained investment, they’re popular among seniors and often form part of inheritance settlements. When the owner of a CD passes away, it can be inherited in one of three ways. Therefore, it’s a way to pass on money without the CD going through probate.

CDs are treated like any other account as far as inheritance. While probate is frequently used to decide who will inherit particular assets after someone dies, other ways of passing on accounts can be much simpler and less expensive than probate.

There are three common ways to inherit property; only one involves probate. First, some property is jointly owned, passing directly to the co-owner without probate. This applies to joint accounts (including joint CDs) and real estate owned jointly.

The second category is contract property, like life insurance, retirement accounts and non-retirement accounts with beneficiaries designated upon death. These designations override instructions in the will and pass outside of probate directly to the named beneficiary. These accounts are often designated as payable on death (POD) or transfer on death (TOD). It is possible to add this designation to your CD account.

The third category is everything else. All property not covered above will generally have to go through probate.

If you want to avoid probate for the money you hold in your CD, there are two options available to you—you can either add a payable-on-death (POD) beneficiary to your account or hold it as a joint account. CDs can be held as joint accounts. However, the rules vary by state. In some states, if one joint account owner passes away, the other owner is automatically given full ownership of the account. If you inherit a CD in this way, it will typically continue to run in the way it was before. Once it reaches maturity, you can close it and withdraw the funds. In other states, if the joint owner of a bank account dies, the funds are divided between the surviving owner and the estate of the deceased.

Some CD accounts allow the owner to name a payable-on-death (POD) beneficiary. If the account owner dies, this person will automatically inherit the funds in a CD. These banks may terminate a CD when the account owner dies and allow the POD beneficiary immediate access to these funds. Other institutions will make them wait until the CD reaches maturity. In either case, the CD won’t have to go through probate.

Reference: Investopedia (August 23, 2022) “Can You Bypass Probate With CDs?”

 

What Three Things Do People Overlook on Estate Planning Benefits?

An estate plan is important for everyone. Without a legally enforceable estate plan, a court may apply state laws and decide how your assets will be distributed and who will raise your minor children. In addition to allowing you to direct the wrap-up of your affairs after you are gone, an estate plan can also help you reduce taxes, expedite settling your estate and reduce conflict in your family.

Yahoo Finance’s recent article, “3 Overlooked Benefits of Estate Planning,” explains that planning your estate entails making arrangements to ensure that your wishes are carried out after your death.

While some think estate planning is only for those with mansions and millions in the bank, this isn’t true. Instead, even those with modest assets can benefit from having a defined estate plan.

Remember that the estate planning process isn’t about how much you have—it’s about making sure what you do have ends up where you want it. It may also decide who will be responsible for raising any minor children who survive you.

Your estate plan can also affect taxes, the time it takes to settle your estate, your end-of-life medical care and the odds that your family will fight over it.

Deciding who gets what is the big question of many estate plans. Your estate consists of the assets, property and personal items you own at your death. This may include real estate, bank accounts, life insurance, stocks and investments, retirement accounts, and personal property like collectibles, vehicles, art and jewelry.

The documents in estate plans include a last will and testament, a living will, financial and medical powers of attorney and documents establishing various trusts.

Start your estate plan today with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney and review it periodically to accommodate marriages, divorces and births. The process often includes reviewing your property and wishes, drafting a will, naming an executor, assigning healthcare and financial proxies and settling other matters, like funeral arrangements.

Reference: Yahoo Finance (April 24, 2023) “3 Overlooked Benefits of Estate Planning”

 

Should I Start Estate Planning Now?

The coronavirus has taken a toll on our finances, as well as our physical and mental health. As a result, it’s important to plan appropriately for your health care and financial needs in an estate plan to provide much-needed peace of mind, say Yahoo Finance’s recent article entitled “Estate Planning During a Pandemic – Quit Stalling.” The article lists the important components of a comprehensive estate plan:
Advance Health Care Directive. This is a written plan that states your wishes, in the event you can’t speak for yourself. Your wishes need to be in writing, and the document should be updated as your health changes. Review your advance health care directive with your doctor and the person you select as your health care proxy to be certain it’s completed correctly.
Health Care Power of Attorney. This legal document lets you name someone who can review your medical records and make decisions, such as how and where you should be treated. This would be applicable, if you were incapacitated and unable to make medical decisions for yourself.
Living Will. A living will is a type of advance health care directive that specifically states your end-of-life decisions in the event you are terminally ill or permanently unconscious. This covers specific medical treatments, like CPR, ventilation, pain management, tube feeding and organ and tissue donation.
Financial Power of Attorney. This document lets you name someone to help with your finances, if you become incapacitated and unable to do so. You can state how much control your power of attorney will have, like accessing accounts, selling stock and managing real estate.
Trusts. Ask an experienced estate planning attorney about creating a trust to protect your assets as you pass them down to your heirs. If your children or grandchildren aren’t old enough or mature enough to handle their inheritance, you can set up a trust that provides them with a small amount of money each year, increasing that amount as they get older. You can also direct that the money be specifically used for an adult child’s mortgage or student loans.
Beneficiaries. Many people forget to update their life insurance policies, bank, brokerage accounts and retirement plans. These all have beneficiary forms, which supersede a will. These should be updated, along with your estate plan, every few years and after every major life change. That’s something like a marriage, divorce, death, adoption, or birth.
Make certain that you are reviewing and updating your estate plan when you review your retirement plan each year or so.
Reference: Yahoo Finance (Oct. 31, 2021) “Estate Planning During a Pandemic – Quit Stalling”

Should I Ask Mom and Pop about Their Finances?

 

Adult children should know about their parents’ finances in case of any emergency. They should also know critical information in case of death. NASDAQ’s recent article entitled “9 Questions to Ask Aging Parents About Their Finances” acknowledges that speaking to aging parents about their finances isn’t easy. However, to start this process, the article gives us nine important topics you may want to discuss with your parents:
Do You Have a Financial Plan (and is it enough)? See if your parents have a financial plan. Some parents will have a solid financial plan that will let them to live comfortably into their 80s or 90s. On the other hand, you may discover they’re living on a fixed budget and money is tight. If you see that you’ll need to help them financially now or in the future, start planning ASAP. Any decision to provide them with financial support will likely have an effect on your own financial plan.
Do You Have an Accessible List of All Your Accounts? Ask your parents to draft a list of their financial assets and those named as beneficiaries of those accounts and keep it in a safe place. They should also put together important contacts, such as clergy, CPA, estate planning attorney, physician, etc.
Where’s Your Will, and Who’s the Executor? See where your parents keep their wills and estate documents. Some estate planning attorneys retain an original copy. If your parents don’t have a will, encourage them to see an estate attorney. An item that’s not commonly listed in the will, that you may want to ask about, is if your parents have prepaid for a burial plot or memorial arrangements.
Do You Have Life Insurance Policies that I Should Know About? See if your parents have any active life insurance policies. Get the details of the policies and the policy numbers. If your parents are still working, they may also have life insurance through an employer.
Are There Any Special Bequests to Family and Friends? Family heirlooms and special personal property may be a part of your parents’ estate plan. A sibling may have claimed your dad’s coin collection. Knowing your parents’ intentions and wishes for their keepsakes will make things much easier when they pass. Moreover, having conversations about family heirlooms now can help prevent any hard feelings later. Some people make up a list for their personal bequests and reference it in their wills.
Who Have You Named as Your Financial Power of Attorney? This document lets your parents name a primary and secondary person to make financial decisions on their behalf, if they become incapacitated. If you’re the one named as the person to make financial decisions, find out where all of your parents’ financial assets are held. You should also get information about their Medicare policy, any pensions and their Social Security benefits. It even helps to know their utility companies in case you need to pay these bills and must prove power of attorney.

Do You Have a Living Will? They should each have an advance health care directive or living will and health care power of attorney. These documents designate who has authority to make medical decisions on their behalf, if they became incapacitated or terminally ill. This also includes your parents’ preferences for life-sustaining treatment, including a “Do Not Resuscitate” clause, as well as their preferences on organ donation.
Have You Had Trouble Balancing Your Checkbook Lately or Forgotten to Pay Bills? Have a discussion about key financial decisions with your parents while they are in good health. This will let you make a plan, if they show signs of memory loss. The signs of memory loss include forgetting appointments, making occasional errors while managing household finances, or getting confused about the day of the week.
Do You Have a Long-Term Care Policy? To claim benefits of long-term care insurance, a person typically needs to be unable to perform two out of six common “activities of daily living” (bathing, dressing, toileting, eating, transferring and continence) or have a severe cognitive disorder. If your parents have a policy, access it and review its core benefits, in case you need to help them file a claim.
Discussing your parents’ financial and estate plans isn’t fun, but it will help give both you and your parents some peace of mind to know that they will be provided for, and things will be taken care of in their absence.
Reference: NASDAQ (Aug. 27, 2021) “9 Questions to Ask Aging Parents About Their Finances”

Do I Have to Give My Husband’s Children from First Marriage Anything When He Dies?”

 

This is a common question with second (or third marriages) and blended families. Questions frequently arise about Social Security, investments and savings, when the husband is divorced from the children’s mother and is paying child support until each child turns 18.
Nj.com’s recent article entitled “Are my husband’s kids from another marriage due assets when he dies?” says that these questions demonstrate why estate planning is critical to revisit after a divorce. You can take action to make certain that you’re taken care of, but if you don’t do this at the time of the divorce, it could be too late.
Let’s look at what you should know about beneficiaries and wills. First, beneficiary designations supersede a will. Make sure that all beneficiaries and contingent beneficiaries are consistent with your wishes. There are beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, pensions, life insurance policies, annuities and other accounts that take precedence over what may be stated in a will.
While New Jersey does not provide for beneficiary designations on certain assets like a house, vehicles, and real estate, many other states do. For assets without a beneficiary, it’s important to determine the way in which they’re titled.
The titling of assets has an effect on how the assets will be distributed after death. Thus, when married again, spouses should review and update their wills to have an idea of how a spouse’s estate would be disbursed at his or her death.
If a husband is paying child support, divorce decrees will often dictate that he purchase life insurance to cover that obligation upon his death. Therefore, there may be a life insurance policy for the children from a first marriage.
With Social Security, if a spouse remains unmarried after the spouse’s death, he or she can claim a survivor spousal benefit as early as age 60, and if he or she is caring for the spouse’s children from the first marriage who are under 16 years of age, he or she may be entitled to receive a payment earlier. The deceased spouse’s unmarried children can also claim a survivor benefit until age 18, or longer if in high school or disabled.
Reference: nj.com (Aug. 4, 2021) “Are my husband’s kids from another marriage due assets when he dies?”

What are Top ‘To-Dos’ in Estate Planning?

 

Spotlight News’ recent article entitled “Estate Planning To-Dos” says that with the potential for substantial changes to estate and gift tax rules under the Biden administration, this may be an opportune time to create or review our estate plan. If you are not sure where to begin, look at these to-dos for an estate plan.
See an experienced estate planning attorney to discuss your plans. The biggest estate planning mistake is having no plan whatsoever. The top triggers for estate planning conversations can be life-altering events, such as a car accident or health crisis. If you already have a plan in place, visit your estate planning attorney and keep it up to date with the changes in your life.
Draft financial and healthcare powers of attorney. Estate plans contain multiple pieces that may overlap, including long-term care plans and powers of attorney. These say who has decision-making power in the event of a medical emergency.
Draft a healthcare directive. Living wills and other advance directives are written to provide legal instructions describing your preferences for medical care, if you are unable to make decisions for yourself. Advance care planning is a process that includes quality of life decisions and palliative and hospice care.
Make a will. A will is one of the foundational aspects of estate planning, However, this is frequently the only thing people do when estate planning. A huge misconception about estate planning is that a will can oversee the distribution of all assets. A will is a necessity, but you should think about estate plans holistically—as more than just a will. For example, a modern aspect of financial planning that can be overlooked in wills and estate plans is digital assets. It is also recommended that you ask an experienced estate planning attorney about whether a trust fits into your circumstances, and to help you with the other parts of a complete estate plan.
Review beneficiary designations. Retirement plans, life insurance, pensions and annuities are independent of the will and require beneficiary designations. One of the biggest estate planning mistakes is having outdated beneficiary designations, which only supports the need to review estate plans and designated beneficiaries with an experienced estate planning attorney on a regular basis.
Reference: Spotlight News (May 19, 2021) “Estate Planning To-Dos”

Why are Beneficiary Designations Important in Estate Planning?

Not having your beneficiary designations set up correctly can cause a lot of trouble after you pass away.
A designated beneficiary is named on a life insurance policy or on a financial account as the person who will receive those assets, in the event of the account holder's death.
This person usually must file a claim with a copy of the death certificate to receive the assets.
NJ Money Help’s recent article entitled “Beneficiary designation – specific or not?” says that naming a beneficiary takes a little consideration.
When naming the beneficiaries on your accounts or insurance policies, you should always consider a primary and secondary (or contingent) beneficiary.
The owner of a policy or account can name multiple beneficiaries. The proceeds or assets can be divided among more than one primary beneficiary. Likewise, there can also be more than one secondary beneficiary.
The primary beneficiary or beneficiaries are the first ones to receive the asset. The secondary beneficiary is second next in line, if the primary beneficiary dies before the owner of the asset, can’t be found, or refuses to accept the asset.
Note that simply naming beneficiaries in generic terms, such as “wife,” “spouse”’ or “children,” may create legal issues, if there’s a divorce or in case someone becomes disenfranchised.
It is always best to name your beneficiaries specifically and if they are minors, make certain you have designated a guardian.
Because our lives are constantly changing, you should review your life insurance policies, IRAs, 401(k)s, and any other instruments that require beneficiary designations every couple of years to make certain that everything is exactly the way you want.
Reference: NJ Money Help (Oct. 2017) “Beneficiary designation – specific or not?”

Why Do I Need Estate Planning?

Many people who failed to plan their estate with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney have their assets tied up in lengthy, and often messy, legal battles that were decided by people not of their choosing.
Forbes’ recent article entitled “Everyone Needs An Estate Plan: Here's What You Need To Know” says that although many of us don't have quite as much at stake financially, it doesn't mean that estate planning is any less important. In fact, leaving a legacy, passing down wealth and helping family aren’t things that are just for the ultra-rich.
The biggest misstep is not creating an estate plan at all. This is more than just a last will and includes powers of attorney, healthcare directives, a living will and a HIPAA waiver. People put this important responsibility off because they do not want to contemplate their own death. They try to avoid the subject. Some others may have complex family dynamics, and still others are hesitant to confide their complicated relationships with a lawyer. However, all these are just excuses.
We know that life is full of changes, and people get married, divorced, have children and grandchildren, relocate to different states, change careers and get inheritances. Each of these events could make you reconsider your goals. This may necessitate an update to your estate plan.
You need to review the beneficiaries on your IRAs, life insurance policies and pensions. You should look at how you want your heirs to receive your assets and any charitable or philanthropic notions. With powers of attorney, healthcare directives, living wills and HIPAA waivers, you need to think about who you’ll entrust to make important medical and financial decisions for you, if you become incapacitated. You see these critical questions and many others are fluid and prone to change every few years as your life changes.
Remember that your assets receive different treatment from the IRS based on the type and who owns legally owns them. For example, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), Roth IRAs, traditional brokerage accounts, life insurance policies and bank accounts are different than the family home. Therefore, it’s important to be mindful of which assets are left to whom.
Don’t wait. Speak to an experienced estate planning attorney to be certain that you give this process the attention it deserves for the well-being of you and your family.
Reference: Forbes (Feb. 26, 2021) “Everyone Needs An Estate Plan: Here's What You Need To Know”

Should I Add that to My Will?

In general, a last will and testament is an easy and straightforward way to state who gets what when you die and designate a guardian for your minor children, if you (and your spouse) die unexpectedly.

MSN’s recent article entitled “Things you should never put in your will” explains that you can be specific about who receives what. However, attaching strings or conditions may not work because there’s no one to legally enforce the terms. If you have specific details about how a person should use their inheritance, whether they are a spendthrift or someone with special needs, a trust may be a better option because you’ll have more control, even from beyond the grave.

Keeping some assets out of your will can actually benefit your future heirs because they’ll get their inheritance faster. When you pass on, your will must be “proven” and validated in a probate court prior to distribution of your property. This process takes some time and effort, if there are issues—including something in your will that doesn’t need to be there. For example, property in a trust and payable-on-death accounts are two types of assets that can be distributed to your beneficiaries without a will.

Don’t put anything in a will that you don’t own outright. If you jointly own assets with someone, they will likely become the new owner. For example, this applies to a property acquired by married couples in community property states.

Property in a revocable living trust. This is a separate entity that you can use to distribute your assets which avoids probate. When you title property into the trust, it is subject to the trust’s rules.  Because a trust operates independently, you must avoid inconsistencies and not include anything in your will that the trust addresses.

Assets with named beneficiaries. Some financial accounts are payable-on-death or transferable-on-death. They are distributed or paid out directly to the named beneficiaries. That makes putting them in a will unnecessary (and potentially troublesome, if you’re inconsistent). However, you can add information about these assets in your letter of instruction (see below). As far as bank accounts, brokerage or investment accounts, retirement accounts and pension plans and life insurance policies, assign a beneficiary rather than putting these assets in your will.

Jointly owned property. Property you jointly own with someone else will almost always directly pass to the co-owner when you die, so do not put it in your will. A common arrangement is joint tenancy with rights of survivorship.

Other things you may not want to put in a will. Businesses can be given away in a will, but it’s not the best plan. Wills must be probated in court and that can create a rough transition after you die. Instead, work with an experienced estate planning attorney on a succession plan for your business and discuss any estate tax issues you may have as a business owner.

Adding your funeral instructions in your will isn’t optimal. This is because the family may not be able to read the will before making arrangements. Instead, leave a letter of instruction with any personal wishes and desires.

Reference: MSN (Dec. 8, 2020) “Things you should never put in your will”