A Trust Provides Reassurance for You And Your Beneficiaries

Do you know what is going to happen to your assets after you die?  Even if you have created a Last Will and Testament you may not be able to answer “yes” to that question.  Widow Margaret Amrich thought she was ensuring the answer when she created her Will, a thought in which she was mistaken, according to this article by Melissa Bailey.  Ms. Amrich had no immediate heirs, and her Will left all but $500 of her assets (the largest of which was her home) to a local Community Foundation to be used for crippled children.  With no family to fight over her wishes, no extensive assets to sort through, and clear directions written into her Will, it all seemed too easy.

Unfortunately, setting down your wishes in a Will is not always enough.  Twenty months after her death, Ms. Amrich’s designated charity is only just receiving its inheritance, due to a long probate process and the shady mishandling of the sale of her home by the estate’s appointed executor.

There are ways to better ensure that your wishes will be followed after your death.  Creating a Revocable Trust is an excellent way to avoid the lengthy probate process. It also allows you to build checks and balances into your estate plan with ease.  One way to create checks and balances is to appoint co-Trustees to “keep each other honest”.  Another is to appoint a Trust Advisor, someone who could request accountings of the Trustee and serve as a mediator in the event that a dispute arises between parties named in your estate plan.

Don’t let your assets end up in limbo; call our office to help you create a plan that follows your wishes for the distribution of your estate in a reliable and timely manner.