Do you have a will....have you planned your estate out?
My mother passed without having a will. She didn't "own" anything much, but the little that she did has turned into a dang nightmare. It will be at least a year before we can sell the little place she owned because it will have to go through probate court since she didn't have a will leaving it to anyone. Meanwhile the bills are rolling in for the various things.....medical expenses that weren't covered....final expenses.....and now the grass has become an issue. Her place is surrounded by relatives that she wanted to live nearby in her final years.....but this bunch weren't ever enough count to mow her grass. I'm certain they have thoughts about owning that place one day.......and I'll sell it to them if they want to pay, but I swear, if they cause me one moment of grief I will find the crappiest person I can and sign it over to them.
I've been talking to Larry about what we should do to prepare ourselves. The girls would fight like cats and dogs over every single object in this place on certain days and insist the other take it all for themselves on others......it will be a nightmare if either of them were in charge. Putting my son in charge right now wouldn't be a smart move because he hasn't officially grown up enough yet to deal with anything. My brother would do, but I don't think he'd want to do it. I hope my son ages properly enough to wrangle his sisters into some workable frenzy if and when the time comes. Liam is my long term plan for now.
I've been talking to Larry about what we should do to prepare ourselves. The girls would fight like cats and dogs over every single object in this place on certain days and insist the other take it all for themselves on others......it will be a nightmare if either of them were in charge. Putting my son in charge right now wouldn't be a smart move because he hasn't officially grown up enough yet to deal with anything. My brother would do, but I don't think he'd want to do it. I hope my son ages properly enough to wrangle his sisters into some workable frenzy if and when the time comes. Liam is my long term plan for now.
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My son has been on my case to do so.
Heart issues, (Mitral valve/A-Fib incidents.)
If I did not have to keep throwing unexpected $$ his way, maybe I could do so.
Like I told him the other day, "Lawyers do not work for free."0 -
You need to talk to an estate attorney. We did, and now have wills, living wills, power of attorney for our executor (our older daughter), and also set up a trust to protect our investments and property. Our tab ran less than a thousand dollars, but that was a few years ago. Part of the process was to create a handwritten (it has to be in our handwriting) list of who gets what items. That makes it legally ironclad.
Do it.0 -
Wills are a pita. I've had a revokable trust for the past 20 odd years. I'm the trustee and my secondary trustee has LLC the powers of attorney etc that would be needed to sell or keep everything.
With a will, nothing can be sold until probate, with a trust, the trustee can sell immediately, or "keep" the property indefinitely.
I'd suggest that anyone considering estate planning (and we all should) should look into a revokble trust. And get a pour over will that puts nothing not owned by the trust, into the trust upon your passing.0 -
I plan on leaving everything to my creditors. Let them fight over it. Don 0 -
Rocky Raab wrote:You need to talk to an estate attorney. We did, and now have wills, living wills, power of attorney for our executor (our older daughter), and also set up a trust to protect our investments and property. Our tab ran less than a thousand dollars, but that was a few years ago. Part of the process was to create a handwritten (it has to be in our handwriting) list of who gets what items. That makes it legally ironclad.
Do it.
That is the plan. We're dealing with it from all angles right now. My mother passing, my father almost hiding from everyone so we have no clue how he's doing except random sightings that we all keep each other updated on, Larry's parents have become unable to manage their finances and its become a weekly battle with them and Larry's sister.
I have got to get this handled soon.0 -
WearyTraveler wrote:Wills are a pita. I've had a revocable trust for the past 20 odd years. I'm the trustee and my secondary trustee has LLC the powers of attorney etc that would be needed to sell or keep everything.
With a will, nothing can be sold until probate, with a trust, the trustee can sell immediately, or "keep" the property indefinitely.
I'd suggest that anyone considering estate planning (and we all should) should look into a revocable trust. And get a pour over will that puts nothing not owned by the trust, into the trust upon your passing.
This sounds smart.0 -
Did this several years back. It?s out of the way now and just requires occasional review/updates. 0 -
Your first thing to do tomorrow is to call your attorney and get started.
A trust is basically what you need to protect your assetts and heirs for real property.
Of course you should have living Wills etc. Life can change in a blink of the eye.
Double check beneficiaries on any Life insurance. Has anything changed since last time they were looked at, updated, or even purchased?
A good time to look at IRAs etc also. Take advantage of a good tax deduction and save for the future......
It's pretty painless. Everyone's situation is different, but I'd guess $1000.00-1500.00 and your done.
A will for personal property, so whoever you'd like to get whatever, hopefully they will.
Good luck!
Oh yeah, call your attorney first thing tomorrow!!
It's nothing to procrastinate over.
Ed0 -
My will says..." Being of sound mind and body...I spent it all".... 0 -
Yes 0 -
dcon12 wrote:I plan on leaving everything to my creditors. Let them fight over it. Don
That may be the best idea yet.................0 -
I have a living trust that I did back when I was in my early twenties, so I don't know anyting the trust does. But I do have I will attached to the trust and how I want it divided
And yes, I accept. If your family members become snarkily over her property I'll take it off your hands. Thanks for thinking of me0 -
I have all of the above. Daughter was in town and signed two durable Power of attorney documents. Went to the credit union to put our accounts into a trust account. The manager put the trust as the beneficiary on the existing accounts. I was glad I didn't have to order new checks, set up monthly payments, etc. But then our broker sent us a check with "trust" in the payable to line and deposited the check. Someone at the CU said the check couldn't be deposited because we didn't have a trust account. Now we have to go back and setup at least trust accounts, order new checks, set up the bill pay stuff.
Make sure you actually have your bank or CU set up an actual trust account.0 -
LF- thank you for the very generous giveaway.....
Seriously- yes, have a will- but my concern is for my wife- who is in home hospice care, and would not be competent or able to manage if I get run over by a beer truck. Everything we own is as joint tenants with right of survivorship.
Son-in-law is a good man- and is both the executor of my will and the administrator for the benefit of my wife. He has a copy of my will, but also has a separate document telling him where what is- my SSAN, insurance policies, retirement, savings and checking accounts, combinations for the gun safes, etc.
I have also sat and talked with each of our 4 kids- when Mom & I are both gone, there is going to be a 4 way split, If there is something personal we have that you want, let me know now. Each of the girls has asked for an item of their Mom's, each of the boys has asked for an item of mine.
If you have not done some planning, that's OK- when it is YOUR turn to get run over by a beer truck, you won't care- but you will have made somebody's life miserable trying to track down your assets. Having to spend time talking with hospice staff and funeral homes sorta drives the point home. As Pogo the Possum said- "Don't take life so serious--it ain't nohow permanent."0 -
LF in your case I would suggest the following:
- A Trust so that your business can be continued to be run or closed down without a probate court looking over everything.
- A Will to back up the Trust, they call the combo of Will and Trust a belt with suspenders. If there is any defect in the Trust the Will will cover it.
- Durable Power of Attorney, make sure it has provisions for running a business.
- Health Care Proxy, make sure it has provisions for end of life issues and dealing with ins. companies.
- Living Will if allowed in your state.
The documents everyone needs now is the DPA and HCP. Everyone plans for when they are gone but forget the things that can happen to you before you die and someone needs to care for you.0 -
Rocky Raab wrote:You need to talk to an estate attorney. We did, and now have wills, living wills, power of attorney for our executor (our older daughter), and also set up a trust to protect our investments and property. Our tab ran less than a thousand dollars, but that was a few years ago. Part of the process was to create a handwritten (it has to be in our handwriting) list of who gets what items. That makes it legally ironclad.
Do it.
THIS^^^ IMHO get a Trust.0 -
Revocable trust 0 -
A word of warning....
A death, even with a will, brings out the "best" in people. There will be fights, arguments,
"no, Mom said this", and a host of other head aches.
What ever you do, make sure it is clear and binding and without any decisions left to the heirs. :x0 -
dcon12 wrote:I plan on leaving everything to my creditors. Let them fight over it. Don
Exactly - I read a book a while ago - called "die broke"0 -
I want the last check I write to bounce.dcon12 wrote:I plan on leaving everything to my creditors. Let them fight over it. Don0 -
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People who would never abuse their dog, don't seem to mind abusing their family by not having a will.
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jimdeere wrote:
I want the last check I write to bounce.dcon12 wrote:I plan on leaving everything to my creditors. Let them fight over it. Don
..So this very rich man was on his dealt bed and he calls into the room, A priest, a minister, and a Rabi.
Tells them, "I not sure what the true religion is and I want money to spend in my after life, so each of you take these envelopes with $100,000 cash in them.
Just before they cover me with the dirt, throw the envelopes into the grave."
On the faithful day, each of the 3 holy men do as he asked.
Walking away from the grave site the priest admits he took out 1/2 the cash to help his church.
Then the minister Says he kept $75,000 from the $100,000 too.
The priest and the minister both look at the Rabi.
"Hey!!! Don't look at me like that" exclaims the Rabi.
"I put a check for the full amount in the grave"!!!!0 -
I did one other thing. I wrote a final letter that states my funeral wishes, the master password to all my passwords, directions to open the safe, and a last thought or two. It's titled "Just In Case". I have it pinned to my computer desktop.
I realize there's a very slight risk to that, but in the very unlikely event my desktop is stolen, I can change all of that in a moment.0 -
babun wrote:A word of warning....
A death, even with a will, brings out the "best" in people. There will be fights, arguments,
"no, Mom said this", and a host of other head aches.
What ever you do, make sure it is clear and binding and without any decisions left to the heirs. :x
^^^^ THIS ^^^^^ Been there when parents passed. Money has destroyed many a family and ruined family ties.
Had a very confident attorney draw up the necessary papers including a health care directive if unable to make health decisions myself.
Told family the papers in in the safe. Response was: "Spend it"0 -
did same with my guns, left a sell it today price, one that just about anyone would pay for it, and the real price if you want to hold onto it till you find the right person. safe combination, is in my wallet wife,son know it is there, they will find in the safe a letter explaining which guns go to grandkids, kids ect. with exception as grandkids are small and told my son not to give them to them if they are only going to sell em and not hunt or appreciate them. most everything else is of little monetary value, except the house, my son doesn't want it so my daughter will probubly get it or sell it and split money, that is up to them. My son is pretty well off, daughter struggles so he is willing to give most to her, and I think he will do right thing, if my wife leaves then anything she knows she can do what ever she wants with everything except guns.Rocky Raab wrote:I did one other thing. I wrote a final letter that states my funeral wishes, the master password to all my passwords, directions to open the safe, and a last thought or two. It's titled "Just In Case". I have it pinned to my computer desktop.
I realize there's a very slight risk to that, but in the very unlikely event my desktop is stolen, I can change all of that in a moment.0 -
A lot of what you have can be directed outside of a will. Your bank accounts, IRAs, insurance & investment accounts can all have survivors noted.
If you leave it all in a will the ^%$# lawyer will take 5% & it will take a year to pass the money out.0 -
I have been the executor of two family estates. One was set up completely wrong with a minimal will and probate cases had to set up in three states, the other was set up correctly with a complete will. The first estate took me almost three years to settle, the other one was finished off in less than 7 months.
My FIL/MIL did it the best way IMHO. They set everything up in a trust and the process was quite seamless with minimal tax implications..
From these experiences, we have set up a trust. We have living wills and Power of Attorney documents in place. One of our sons is named POA if/when needed and will be in charge of the trust upon our death. Everything is spelled out quite clearly and here is no real wiggle room. We have also set up long term healthcare programing should we need it. Finally, we have already purchased two cemetery plots near several generations of my wife's family so that is all in place.
We have communicated all the information to our children and they have a working understanding of the trust and how it effects them in the future.0 -
I appreciate the insight and Forum Members knowledge on this subject.
I am at that point, where I need to get it done.
Thank You.0 -
If you care about your survivors get a will done...
The state will muck it up and take its time/0 -
I went to what is called an "Elder Care" lawyer. They were very easy to talk with and helped me greatly figuring out what to do.
Only have 1 son so not hard to figure it out except when it came to the point where they ask if my son and I were together and something happened to both of us!!! Then it was major decision time.
Have had to change my will, durable power of attorney, and living will a couple of times but it's set now.
When my Dad died years ago my Mom's lawyer advised that my brother, his wife, me and my husband ALL be placed as executors so that we all had to agree on what would be done. That way no one could say it wasn't done right.
Like others have said...Get to a Lawyer and get it in motion0
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