Estate Planning FAQs
We are not attorneys, so nothing below is to be construed as legal advice. Please see an experienced estate planning attorney to get your documents up to date. The below answers are from the perspective of an experienced professional Fiduciary.
Why do I need an estate plan?
You need a written plan because you cannot predict precisely what will happen to you, or your loved ones, or when.
Your estate plan controls much more than what happens to your possessions and cash after you die. These important documents also instruct your trusted manager (the Trustee, Executor, Agent for Healthcare & Agent for Finance) on how to serve you if you become ill, temporarily or permanently. Please ask your attorney which documents are appropriate for you based on your assets and goals.
You may need us because:
Your estate plan controls much more than what happens to your possessions and cash after you die. These important documents also instruct your trusted manager (the Trustee, Executor, Agent for Healthcare & Agent for Finance) on how to serve you if you become ill, temporarily or permanently. Please ask your attorney which documents are appropriate for you based on your assets and goals.
You may need us because:
- You want to stop worrying about the future
- You want to be remembered well
- You like things handled economically and efficiently
- Family harmony matters to you
- “Learn more”
Can I select a Fiduciary (Trusted Manager) before getting my estate planning
documents?
documents?
Yes. We recommend talking with a few experienced, licensed Fiduciaries before completing the process with your attorney, so that you know YOUR wishes will be carried out and by whom.
It is also acceptable to begin your estate planning process with your attorney, and then connect with prospective Fiduciaries (perhaps the ones to whom your attorney refers you). We find phone appointments to be very informative. Ask for the fiduciary’s website address, and check the fiduciary license at www.Fiduciary.CA.gov
It is also acceptable to begin your estate planning process with your attorney, and then connect with prospective Fiduciaries (perhaps the ones to whom your attorney refers you). We find phone appointments to be very informative. Ask for the fiduciary’s website address, and check the fiduciary license at www.Fiduciary.CA.gov
Can’t my attorney be my trustee?
Yes. Your attorney, the one writing your estate plan for you, can serve in this role, however, you should be aware of the “natural conflict of interest” that this arrangement creates. With a third party trustee (one who is not a beneficiary or the drafting attorney), your attorney can advise you and advocate for you if things don’t go the way you planned.
If your attorney is also serving as your trustee (the same human being with two completely different responsibilities), who will ask the hard questions regarding the accounting produced by the trustee? Who will answer for any wrongdoing?
If your attorney is also serving as your trustee (the same human being with two completely different responsibilities), who will ask the hard questions regarding the accounting produced by the trustee? Who will answer for any wrongdoing?
If I choose a family member to act as Trustee, should he/she be compensated?
Yes. Serving as Trustee of a family trust is often a thankless job where an inexperienced, emotional person is faced with trying to please a number of relatives who don’t understand why everything takes so long to get done.
If your trustee is a loved one who needs to take time off work to serve you, at least consider replacing lost wages. This wage amount is a reasonable place to start when trying to determine how much to pay your amateur loved one. Also consider how much this individual will need to rely on paid professionals (another expense of your trust) to get the work done.
If you have never served in this role yourself, you may not know how much work you are asking someone you love to do for you. Keep this in mind: no matter what you pay this loved one, other beneficiaries may resent that this person has control and even if he/she earned it, the other beneficiaries may resent that this one ended up with more money in the end. For more information, read our book Ethics for Trustees.
If your trustee is a loved one who needs to take time off work to serve you, at least consider replacing lost wages. This wage amount is a reasonable place to start when trying to determine how much to pay your amateur loved one. Also consider how much this individual will need to rely on paid professionals (another expense of your trust) to get the work done.
If you have never served in this role yourself, you may not know how much work you are asking someone you love to do for you. Keep this in mind: no matter what you pay this loved one, other beneficiaries may resent that this person has control and even if he/she earned it, the other beneficiaries may resent that this one ended up with more money in the end. For more information, read our book Ethics for Trustees.
How do I find the right Fiduciary?
You can start by finding the ones who have taken required classes, have passed a background check/fingerprinting and who have passed a licensing exam. The list of active California Licensed Professional Fiduciaries is at www.Fiduciary.CA.gov
You can also ask the professionals you know well and trust (CPA, attorney, financial advisor, banker, etc.) to refer you.
You can also ask the professionals you know well and trust (CPA, attorney, financial advisor, banker, etc.) to refer you.
May I send you my documents for review before I sign them?
No. Your attorney prepares your estate plan documents based on your instructions. We implement the documents, we do not write them. We cannot give you legal advice as to what you should have written in your documents. However, we would like to have copies of your documents, if you want us to serve you someday.
Once your documents are completed by the attorney, and if you have named us in your documents, and the documents are signed and dated by you, please ask your attorney to send us a complete copy of all of your estate plan documents.
We will prepare a file for you and send you a letter which acknowledges that we have received your documents, and we will send you an “emergency packet” (wallet cards and a refrigerator magnet which identify who your Agent for Healthcare is along with that individual’s phone number).
We will keep your estate planning documents (and any other useful information you wish to send us) in our files until the time comes for us to serve you.
After we have received your documents, if you want us to read through all of your estate plan, and then interview you to ask all of our questions, we would be glad to send you a letter of engagement.
Once your documents are completed by the attorney, and if you have named us in your documents, and the documents are signed and dated by you, please ask your attorney to send us a complete copy of all of your estate plan documents.
We will prepare a file for you and send you a letter which acknowledges that we have received your documents, and we will send you an “emergency packet” (wallet cards and a refrigerator magnet which identify who your Agent for Healthcare is along with that individual’s phone number).
We will keep your estate planning documents (and any other useful information you wish to send us) in our files until the time comes for us to serve you.
After we have received your documents, if you want us to read through all of your estate plan, and then interview you to ask all of our questions, we would be glad to send you a letter of engagement.
I don’t have much property or money; do I still need an estate plan?
Yes. In a way, doing nothing to prepare is a “plan”, but not an efficient one. Talk to an attorney about your specifics. You may not need documents prepared for you, but it is always good to know what will happen with whatever arrangements you have now, so you can make better choices, if you want to.
For instance, naming appropriate beneficiaries on the accounts you have with financial institutions is rather common. Once you have a written estate plan, make sure the beneficiary designations on your accounts match your written intentions.
For instance, naming appropriate beneficiaries on the accounts you have with financial institutions is rather common. Once you have a written estate plan, make sure the beneficiary designations on your accounts match your written intentions.
What do I ask to learn about my prospective Trustee?
Once you find a few Fiduciaries in your area, we recommend phone appointments, as you will need to get acquainted and ask some important questions, like:
- What are your internal controls like?
- What happens to me, if something happens to you (Do you have a succession plan of your own)?
- Are you insured for errors and omissions?
- Do you have business insurance?
- Do you have a disaster recovery plan?
- What do you charge and when?
My estate plan just gives instructions on what to do with my stuff and my money after I die, right?
No, the instructions in your estate plan cover much more than distributions after your death. A professionally written estate plan (by a qualified attorney) includes provisions for when you are incapacitated (temporarily or permanently) and for resignation (you don’t have to stay on as trustee, if you don’t want to) in addition to distribution instructions after you die.
Just like health insurance covers you when you’re sick and life insurance pays when you die; your estate plan should be considered a great tool to maintain control of your life while alive and after you die.
Just like health insurance covers you when you’re sick and life insurance pays when you die; your estate plan should be considered a great tool to maintain control of your life while alive and after you die.
Isn’t getting a written estate plan, then having a professional fiduciary to handle everything, expensive?
It depends on how important being safe and in control are to you. Many people who buy a cheap car, to just get them from point A to point B, are not as stress free and available as people who spent the little extra for a quality car.
As you consider getting your estate plan up to date, give some weight to the long term benefits:
As you consider getting your estate plan up to date, give some weight to the long term benefits:
- Avoiding Probate Court – Any court involvement takes a long time and is expensive (you can calculate the probate fee on your estate here). There is more for you and your beneficiaries if you have a quality plan, with a qualified professional to handle things.
- Keeping the Peace – What is your family harmony worth to you? We hear that sometimes family members never speak to each other again when one sibling was put in charge (even when they did a decent job).
- Staying in Control – You are at a time in your life while you feel good, but may lose control if you lose capacity. A good estate plan keeps you in charge, even if you feel too weak to do the work yourself.