Top Ten Things Your Survivors Need to Know: 20th Anniversary Edition
My job as an estate planning attorney is to remind you that your days on this earth are limited. Planning for your incapacity and your death does force you to face your own mortality. In my opinion, it is not morbid to think clearly about death. This Top Ten List can help you with thinking clearly about death so that you can begin to plan and create your legacy. To assist your survivors, you will want to review the following items that I have identified as the “Top Ten Things Your Survivors Need to Know.” This Top Ten List Your Survivors Need to Know was revised in honor of my 20th year in business which I celebrated February 1, 2023. I hope that you benefit from the use of this checklist as legal guidance to make the time easier for your survivors who are facing emotional distress and legal and financial issues.
1. Letter to Loved Ones. You can write a letter to your loved ones. This is a personal note from you to a loved one. This is a separate item from your estate planning legal documents. This top ten item jumped from #7 to #1 and has been revised to a new name and definition:
Legacy Love Letter. A legacy love letter is a letter of love, faith, and gratitude. These heartfelt goodbyes are often found after the passing of a loved one.
I have found that after 20 years in business assisting people with probate and trust administrations the most important part of an estate plan is a legacy love letter. I want to encourage people to write legacy love letters, so I am writing a book about legacy love letters. For more information about writing legacy love letters please visit legacy-love-letters.com or https://www.facebook.com/legacyloveletterproject. If you have received a legacy love letter, please share your story with me so that others will know what a heartfelt impact it had.
2. The Location of Estate Plan. The documents required for a comprehensive estate plan include the Trust; a Last Will & Testament – Pourover Will; a Healthcare Directive, and a Power of Attorney. It is important to check first to make sure that all documents have been properly executed and notarized and that there are no missing pages. It is also important to check to see if all parties are referenced correctly.
3. The Location of Important Papers. You will need to collect all information pertaining to insurance and retirement accounts. You will also want to have copies of birth and death certificates; real property deeds; and adoption papers and divorce decrees
4. Contact Information Legal Heirs & Beneficiaries. Upon your death, your Executor/ Trustee will be required to notify your legal heirs and beneficiaries. A current list of their names; addresses; and phone numbers will assist with this task. This is true even if there is a legal heir that you no longer have contact with or that you are disinheriting.
5. Contact Information Legal & Financial Team. Upon your death, your Executor/ Trustee will want to contact your estate attorney and your financial advisor immediately. At the Estate Planning Law Center complimentary services include a surviving spouse meeting so that the Certification of Trust can be updated for the surviving spouse which removes the deceased spouse from the trust and the title to trust assets including a trust bank account. The Executor/Trustee wants to meet with the estate attorney immediately because there are a number of financial and legal steps, they need to take including obtaining a new tax ID and unfreezing the trust bank account.
6. Funeral & Burial Instructions. The agent under your Healthcare Directive has the power to order internment, cremation, and memorial services. If you are choosing cremation, I encourage you to sign an Authorization and Consent Form with the funeral provider before your death. Because cremation is irreversible, providers are very cautious in going forward if anyone objects unless you have previously signed the consent. Effective July 1, 2020, you may consider Alkaline Hydrolysis which is also known as water cremation.
7. Decisions Regarding Organ Donation. Your Healthcare Directive allows you to express an intention to donate your bodily organs and tissues following your death. If you have a donor sticker on your driver’s license you will want to make sure that your agent under your Healthcare Directive knows whether you have made a decision to donate all of your organs OR any needed organs. You will also want to direct whether the organs you donate are for Transplant only or whether the organs you donate can also be utilized for Research and Education.
8. Specific Gifts. You can list specific gifts. This is a list that identifies the gift item and the gift recipient. People are now incorporating digital photos of the specific gifts. This list directs your Executor and/or Trustee to deliver the gifts if they are still part of your estate upon your death. The minimum requirement is that the list must be in writing, signed and dated. You can type this list but it must also be printed, signed and dated.
9. Assets List/ Liabilities List. Your Executor/Trustee must inventory your estate which means that they need to identify what assets you own upon your death. Your Executor/Trustee must also pay your creditors so a list of current liabilities which include lease contracts, ongoing monthly expenditures and student loan and credit card debt will assist them in fulfilling their role. If you have a Trust, your real property and bank accounts need to be registered in the name of your Trust. This registration allows your assets to be distributed to your beneficiaries without the probate process. In my office, I assist clients with this process by preparing the Trust Certification; the Trust Transfer Deed(s) for Real Property; and the Itemized Schedule of Trust Assets.
10. Business Succession Plan. There is a tendency for many business owners to procrastinate even when they acknowledge the need for planning. I provide guidance to my clients to clearly define motives and select the best course of action to enable them to reach their goals. The basic reasons for business succession planning are (1) to provide liquidity for owners; (2) to minimize transfer taxes; (3) to provide for the continuation of the business; and (4) to provide for family members.
Since 2020, Gwendolyn is recognized as a legal specialist in her field of estate planning by the California State Bar because she has gone beyond the standard licensing requirements by successfully demonstrating a broad-based and comprehensive experience in the specialty area. She wants to thank the community for their continued support and feels privileged to have served them for 20 years. She will continue to assist clients with preparing their legal documents and assisting their loved ones with probate and trust administration. For more information about Gwendolyn and her law center, please visit teplc.com or https://www.facebook.com/teplc.
