You are reminding me of the hassle in returning the cable box. No amount of phone time could convince the company that since the subscriber was dead, I needed cancellation of service AND to stop being billed a monthly fee for “equipment”. So in perpetuity? Without the darn box the estate was getting charged every month for the “rental”?
Yes, there are some hidden hassles that nobody thinks about.
I believe that is the job of the executor.
I was speaking of parent’s leaving money in trust for their heirs. One person (actually a co-executor) decides they are the trustee and takes control of the money. (the trust document was unclear)
It was a 5 year legal battle which ended up in court. Justice prevailed, but it was emotionally exhausting, expensive and resulted in a permanent split in the family.
An executor (or Personal Representative) administers Wills. A PR maybe named in the Will, with alternates, or can be appointed by a Probate Court.
A Trustee (or co-Trustees) administer Trusts. Sounds like the Trust that you refer to was poorly written. Trusts should clearly name Trustees, and alternates should the first person(s) named die first or not want the job. In my parent’s case, I was 3rd in line, but the other two (his siblings) predeceased my dad. Trust should list who gets what, just like a Will.
Where a Trust can end up managing money for an heir, underage or adult special needs child for whom the parents want to take care of after they are gone.
Nevertheless, a Trustee managing money must be a fiduciary.
It sure was!
My brother died in the middle of his annual apartment lease. The owner told us she expected payment for the rest of the lease term. Yeah, that did not happen. We figured our brother didn’t need to worry about her giving him a bad reference on his next move.
Ugh. This is so sad.
Protip: credit card companies are last in line to get paid by an estate, and they know that. Thus, they are usually very happy to negotiate a settlement-in-full for partial payment.
We just had our wills redrawn. We have two kids…and when the last of us parents goes, everything gets divided equally. Estate lawyer suggested we have kids as co-executors for the last of us who dies. That is what we did.
When first spouse here dies, we were reminded we need to update things like beneficiaries (removing the dead spouse)…and can reconsider this decision.
Our kids get along well, our wills are not complicated, and it should be easy to divide by 2.
My brother and I were co-executors of my parents estate and it was a giant PIA. We don’t live in the same state and so we both had to have everything separately notarized, and spent a ton of money overnighting documents to the other for the the things that needed original signatures.
@momofboiler1 we specifically asked about that because one of our kids does not live in this state. The lawyer was clear that the OOS executor could designate the instate one for all signatures and anything needing to be notarized. Maybe this varies by state? I don’t know, but it was one question we clearly needed answered.
Also, except for our home, everything is or will be POD to a surviving spouse or kids. So…the only thing is the house.
We had no in-state person so maybe that was the difference? Our parents both died in FL.
“Either of whom can act” can be useful language to include when there are co-executors.
That’s very possible. One of our kids does live in the same state where we live. Of course…that could change!
Are either of your kids married? Grandchildren in the mix?
Just a suggestion- don’t think of your estate plans as “one and done”. Once there are grandchildren in the mix-- one of your kids has three kids, one with special needs; the other has no kids and no SO, your thinking may change.
Or it may not (I know families where “equity” means straight down the middle, and others where a grandchild’s needs have necessitated a shift in asset allocation). But keep that in mind.
@blossom. No grandchildren. And we were clear. The estate when we both are gone is to be divided equally between our two kids…with no regard to marriage or kids.
We will set up college funds for grandkids if we ever have any.
And of course, the surviving spouse here can change whatever they want to change…if they decide to do so.
And if there are any changes that necessitate anything…we can modify our wills.
My father died this summer, and my Mom was his executor which required a lot of taking an elderly bereaved woman to manymany places to sign papers – and that was with an exceptionally well planned estate. His will had stipulated , even, that she inherited everything if she outlived him by 30 days; his thought (we know, bc he had yearly meetings to update us) was if they were in an accident, he didn’t want the estate to get complicated for us. Bless my brother for doing muchof the work.
Anyway, she really was not a good choice and we would have liked to spare her the process. Think about changing the executor as your choice ages, is the lesson we learned.
That matters not. What matters is what the banks/brokerages and other vendors want to see. If the local bank policy requires both signatures prior to distribtion, the co-Trustees can argue with them for weeks, or just comply (which is easier).
They will comply…and there aren’t a lot of different places they will need to deal with.
Please be sure there’s some cash, too. There will/might be up front expenses related to selling the home. DH and siblings are dealing with a trust that only has a house. Maybe an account that needs to pour over into the trust, but there is resistance from one sibling to do that.
The bank accounts with cash will become theirs on the death of the last parent. They should have enough money to cover any costs. And it’s a 50/50 split on that too.