How to Keep Your Trust Updated, Part 3
For the past few weeks, we’ve been discussing all the ways to ensure that your trust is up-to-date. The last thing you want is for your final wishes to go unfulfilled. Let’s take a look at some final points to cover when going through the updating process.
Unnecessarily Having Professional Trustees
Why pay for a professional or institutional trustee when there are no other advantages of having one and there are fully capable family trustees who can ensure your trust is properly carried out?
Problems with Protection and Access
Think your trust protects your assets? Maybe it does and maybe it doesn’t. Revocable trusts do not protect assets for you while you’re living. And vice versa; think you have access to your assets? You may not. Either way, the trust’s not working as you expected.
Being Vulnerable to the “Killer Ds”
If you’re leaving the inheritance to your children outright or in a series of arbitrary lump sums, this leaves the trust open to the “Killer Ds” of Divorce, Debt collection, Destructive habits, Disability, and Death of the beneficiary.
Terms and Conditions
Not being confident of the terms and workings of your situation is of course a red flag. The terms and mechanics may not say, or do, what you think. Make sure that everything is in line with your expectations.
Tax Issues with Your Trust
Trust tax returns may be filed unnecessarily – or the opposite could be true. Both situations may be costing you time and money.
Conclusion
In order to be healthy, your trust should be reviewed as part of a comprehensive estate plan checkup. Assets should be listed in an easy-to-use organizer for convenient adding and subtracting from the list, and for confirmation that beneficiary and ownership are lined up.
It should work so well for you and your family that were you to suddenly be disabled or to die, your trusts and the assets in it would be ready to serve your family, quickly.
Figuring out which documents and planning tools you need — right now and for the future — can be confusing and overwhelming. Use our interactive diagnostic tool to find clarity on your next best steps.
