Estate Planning - What have you learned

I am just learning all of this stuff too.
My dad just passed away on Christmas and he had setup a trust, but it was set up in 2012 and he did not updated it since then. So there are things that were still going to my mom as a beneficiary (my mom passed away before my dad) and some things that are just going to me and my sister, not the rest of the trust group. Which for us is just a total of 4 (me, my sister, my son, her daughter) and not a big ordeal. THANK GOD!

I don't have much either but with what I am inheriting, I want to set up a trust for that. Plus make sure all my benefits have the correct beneficiaries (not XH listed on them!).

I will be keeping an eye on this thread.

I've never heard of this. I just know that if you name isn't on the account, you can't touch the money even if you are a beneficiary until you have a death certificate.

Account beneficiaries supersede a will. Bank accounts and other assets that have Payable on Death (POD) or beneficiary will pass according to that designation and will not be part of the will and part of probate. In our state, if everything has a beneficiary on it and the remaining assets are under a certain amount (used to be $30k - I don't know if it is still that amount) the estate is considered a small estate and doesn't require probate. This is useful when the first spouse dies if the home is in both spouses names and everything else has a beneficiary.

Put automobiles in one person's name. There is no benefit in putting on both names.

Setting up a trust will avoid probate for all assets in the trust. Often people set up a trust but don't fund it. You have to change the name on all accounts to make them part of the trust.

There have been some significant changes to tax law starting in 2019 with regards to passing along IRA and annuity accounts. If you have not done any estate planning since that time and have those types of assets to pass along, particularly if it isn't to your spouse, you should talk to tax accountant about the changes. In short, the IRS gets their money a lot faster than they used to.

Amen. I couldn't even touch her account with the death certificate. 

write lists of passwords, of accounts, of who is to get what. pay for that lawyer and know where the original documents are (dh thought his mom was all set up but.. the original will was not found --able to find witnesses. property given to his sister is not properly title recorded.. still haven't fixed that). having him being joint owner of her checking account made that easier.

don't leave anything directly to someone with special needs on benefits.

it all takes a long time to wrap it up

Besides what others have said, make sure both you and your SO is listed on utility accounts. I have heard too many stories of surviving spouses not being able to do business with a utility company because their name was not on the account. This would apply too if you have an elderly parent living alone.

Do not close bank accounts until you have received any refunds from canceling things like homeowners insurance.

When I worked for a big insurance company, refund checks had to be in the name of the policy holder and if bank accounts had been closed the checks often could not be cashed. It could quickly become a big mess.

Keep a copy of your trust in good condition that is easy to locate. I can't tell you the number of people I have had at my office talking about how they can't find their relative's trust or the only copy got destroyed.

One quick and easy way to help avoid probate is to record a revocable transfer on death deed. It's a simple document in which you name a beneficiary for your home. Nothing happens until you die at which time that beneficiary records an affidavit and then the home is put in their name. If you're someone like me a trust would be major overkill, but I recorded a TOD deed so that I don't have loved ones dealing with probate for my house.

And finally, when you are the beneficiary of someone's trust for the love of all things... get the stuff out of the trust's name! That is not your trust, if you die that means probate because that trust does not pertain to you. So many people inherit properties and then just leave them in their dead parent's trust for years and years. Then the kids start to die off and you have a giant mess.

My name had been on my mama's accounts for many years. Nonetheless, after she died, I went to her bank with a copy of her death certificate to take care of notifying them. The teller discussed all sorts of information about the accounts before bothering to confirm that I was the other person listed on them. I finally asked, what is the procedure here that we need to go through. She cocked her head to the side and asked, "Did ya just want to let us know she died, hon?" I deadpan replied back, "Yes, I'm just driving all over town telling people my mom died." Followed by, "Perhaps I can speak to someone in customer service?" 

This thread is very helpful. I learned a LOT handling my mama's estate. My husband and I definitely have some work we still need to do to address a lot of these issues. This is a helpful reminder to not keep putting that off. 

This varies from state to state.  We live in Missouri and did a transfer on deed to our house, but it does not apply in Alabama, where my Dad lives.  So he had to put who gets his house in his will. 

But I’ll echo what others have said about having a beneficiary on ALL of your accounts, and making sure it’s kept updated.  My brother’s wife died and she still had her ex husband on her 401K, with her kids as secondary.  Thankfully, her ex wasn’t a dick and declined it so that her kids were able to get that money.

Correct. It's also important to understand all of the ramifications that can come with some trusts. In my state, many people put their homes into irrevocable trusts with their children as the present beneficiaries so they are able to qualify for medi-cal for long term care. What they don't understand, is that this causes a reassessment of the property and can increase the property taxes exponentially. 

I actually just dealt with a man that did this the other week. He got diagnosed with cancer and had no insurance. His attorney drafted an irrevocable trust with his sister as the present beneficiary. He only retained the right to occupy the home. Since he no longer owned the home he got qualified for Medi-cal. However, his home was reassessed and his property taxes increased about $3500/year. He was livid.

It's really unfortunate that our society makes people play games like this for life saving medical care but since that's the hellscape we are in just realize that you often don't get something without paying for it in another way.

I ran something similar with my dad.  He failed to update beneficiaries on one account when the investment firm makes some changes to their system several years ago.  When it came time for his annual draw from the account I called his financial advisor and during the conversation found out he didn’t have POD/beneficiaries on the account.  We got that fixed and dad passed away 2 months later.  Unfortunately there was one account I wasn’t aware of until after dad died that had to go to probate.

Having spent over three years in litigation, I have learned to put your explicit wishes in your will or trust that you NEVER EVER want to be disinterred at any point in the future by anyone under any circumstances.