We hope our readers had an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. After all, it is the unofficial beginning of summer, and if you have been paying attention to the calendar, it means that 2015 is almost half over. While this may leave you feeling that life is going too fast, you would be right. Which probably means that the New Years resolution you made in January isnt going to resolve itself.
So when you begin the process of making your will or establishing trusts, it is important to do them right. So we offer this post to help our readers avoid some common mistakes in establishing their estate plans.
Thinking your will (alone) will be enough Indeed, we recommend that people have a will in order to have instructions on how you want your assets distributed; but by itself, a will may not be enough to accomplish your needs. For instance, it may not eliminate the probate process, which could lead to complications in transferring your assets.
Failing to fund your trust For those who have decided to add a trust to their estate plan, it is important that assets are actually added to the trust so that they can be effectively transferred. This means that the assets will have to be re-titled in order for them to be a part of the trust. Simply naming them in the trust may not be sufficient.
Failing to update a will or trust Yes, creating an estate plan is a major accomplishment, but like any other investment, it must be nurtured and updated from time to time.