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What is an “Estate Plan”?

Documents included: Revocable Trust, Certification of Trust, Last Will & Testament, Power of Attorney, Health Care Directive, HIPAA Authorization, Assignments, and Deed.

Your Trust holds title to all assets over $184,000. In your Trust you have three decisions to make: (1) Who will be your Trustee (“manager” after you pass), (2) How will your assets/estate gets divided after you pass, and (3) What assets do you want to transfer? Don’t have an asset over $184,000? But could you in the future? Your Trust can just sit in the background, and then you use it to purchase a home, for example.

The Certification of Trust is a 2-page snapshot of the Trust. You provide this document to banks or financial institutions when you want to transfer the asset into the Trust.

Your Will is where you nominate an “Executor” (usually the same person as your Trustee of the Trust), and name Guardians if you have minor children. The Will also allows you to designate recipients for smaller assets like jewelry, vehicles, and other personal property items by using language that says something like, “I am going to leave a list or memo designating beneficiaries for each of my personal property items. If no list or memo can be found after my death, then “pour” those items into the Trust and follow my distribution section in the Trust.”

A Durable Power of Attorney nominates an Agent to handle your financial affairs on your behalf either immediately or only if incapacitated. This document is void upon your death.

A Health Care Directive nominates an Agent to handle your medical decisions/wishes on your behalf either immediately or only if incapacitated. This document is void upon your death.

A HIPAA Authorization nominates Recipients to receive your medical information or records for up to two years after your death.

An Assignment of Interest is how we transfer your ownership interest in a Corporation or LLC into the Trust.

An Assignment of Personal Property is one extra step of showing intent to transfer everything you own into the Trust name (to reach the end goal of avoiding probate for your heirs.

…but why?

I know. Why spend the money to get all these documents?

1) Avoid Probate. Probate is costly and time-consuming. It’s through the court, and a Judge gets to determine how your assets are distributed. A Will doesn’t avoid probate, the whole purpose of a Will is so the judge will know how you want your assets distributed.

2) You decide. A Trust allows you to a) name a manager “Trustee”, b) choose beneficiaries, and c) how your assets are distributed.