Admirable Estate Administration

     Question. If today were your last, how would you be remembered regarding your estate planning? Would it be for leaving a mess for others to clean up, or would it be for leaving a thoughtfully drafted, thoroughly implemented and carefully maintained estate plan so your appointed fiduciaries could smoothly administer your estate?
     Finishing well, in terms of your estate planning, is the focus of this article, as we review general responsibilities fiduciaries assume when administering an estate. Accordingly, you may want to share it with them while there is still time to discuss your wishes.

The Three Phases of Estate Administration

     Upon your death, the post-mortem (i.e., after death) responsibilities of your appointed fiduciaries fall into three phases of estate administration. Whether under your Revocable Living Trust-based plan or under your Will-based plan, these responsibilities are to:

1. Collect and manage your assets;
2. Pay your debts, taxes and expenses; and
3. Administer and distribute your assets for the benefit of your named beneficiaries.

     Note: Your fiduciaries should seek appropriate legal counsel throughout each of these three phases to ensure that all of the "i’s" are dotted and the "t’s" are crossed.

Learn more about creating an estate plan that will help your fiduciaries administer your estate as smoothly as possible...

Treasure Hunt: Asset Inventory

     Question: What property do you own, where is it located and how much is it worth? Next question: Is this information recorded somewhere, whether in hard-copy or electronically? Next question: Who, if anyone, has knowledge of and access to this information? If you cannot answer each of these questions with confidence, then your final legacy for your loved ones may resemble an unpleasant treasure hunt.

What Happens When There is No Asset Inventory for the Estate

     It happens too often. Responsible people meet with legal counsel and prepare comprehensive estate plans. Their plans may even include cutting edge techniques implemented through proven legal instruments. Then, an injury or illness strikes these responsible people and they become incapacitated. Eventually, they die. Sometime thereafter, the successor decision-makers appointed in the legal instruments meet with the legal counsel who prepared the estate plans and receive their marching orders. These successors assume their positions of responsibility only to make a shocking discovery: There is little, if any, information available regarding the property they are now legally required to identify, locate and value.
    Instead of approaching estate planning as a process to get (and keep) their legal affairs in order, too many people mistakenly believe that everything is okay once they sign their legal instruments. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, signing legal instruments without identifying, locating and valuing the property is like buying an automobile without putting fuel in its tank. It may look nice, but you are not going anywhere.

Learn how you can help your fiduciaries by creating and organizing an asset inventory and valuation record...