Continuing the theme of our previous post, here are three more “simple” estate planning tips:
- A safe deposit box at the bank may not be the best place to keep your original documents. Please know that your agent and/or Executor will not be able to access these documents unless he or she has his or her name on the box.
- Please make sure your trust is funded If there are no assets in your trust, then your estate goes through the probate process. This is unfortunate because one of the primary reasons for having the trust is to avoid probate, but you can’t avoid probate, if nothing is in your trust.
- Name and/or update your beneficiary designations on your retirement accounts and life insurance policies, both primary and contingents. We find that many people have named a primary beneficiary, but forget to name a contingent beneficiary. If this happens, the default contingent beneficiary is your Estate, resulting in unintended consequences, including the fact that an Estate is taxed at a higher rate than an individual. Please note that updating your will and trust is not the same as updating your beneficiary designations.