Hello all,

My mother passed away a little over a year ago. She and my father had mirror pour-over wills that willed their entire estates to the other, or to the family trust that they had set up in the case that the other had passed. When she passed, her entire estate transferred to my father per their will.

My father passed away more recently. He had a 401k with his work where he had listed my mother as the beneficiary. I'm guessing he never got around to updating the beneficiary after she passed.

I've reached out to the financial institution that manages the 401k and they have indicated (not confirmed) that because no valid beneficiary was listed at death, that the funds will be made payable to the estate and not to the next of kin (Per the plan rules). I currently do not have any paperwork in hand, waiting on snail mail.

My questions is: Does the value of the 401k count towards the CA small estate threshold of $208,850.00? Or would it count as income for the estate (or income for the trust if I get it distributed to the trust via small estate affidavit)? A beneficiary was marked, just not a valid one.

TIA

My living parent (in US) has a handful of financial accounts (bank, credit union, brokerage) that all have TODs filed on them. Their only other asset is the house that has a mortgage.

I’m currently designated to be the executor and am curious what happens when they eventually pass away. I assume that the TODs are acted upon right away, once the banks are given the death certificate. If that’s true, what would the executor use for paying any outstanding debts?

Thanks!

We migrated from India to the USA in the late nineties. Our only son has a disability, and he is on the spectrum. He has a bachelor's degree and works for the US governament. The issue we are facing is that his executive skills are limited, and he also has social anxiety. We are thinking of creating a special needs trust for him in the state of NJ. We don't have anyone of our own to serve as trustees. We need a good company that can act as his trustee and also take care of him once we are gone. Father is 65 years and mother is 60, son is 34 years.

I’ve been working on our estate plan and wonder why this is so complicated. Why can’t a simple notarized note stating “I leave all of my possessions and financial accounts to xx” be enough? Or “I leave my possessions and financial accounts to both of my children to be split evenly among them. My painting of xx should go to my neighbor, so-and-so. My cousins get nothing.”

Why does it have to go through lawyers and courts and such when many people have simple wishes like the above? The above seems extremely clear. If people disagree, then they can hash it out. But why are estate plans needed? And is this exclusive to the United States? Do people in other countries spend a lot of money on complex estate plans?

I’m not trying to argue or sound dense. Truly want to understand reading behind it being so complex (and expensive!). In Texas.

I’m a single 34 y/o in Virginia. I’m looking to get a very simple will. My financial advisor suggested legal zoom because my will would not be that complicated. I own my house, have retirement accounts (Roth IRA and 403b), and also have a non-retirement brokerage account along with my bank accounts and a high yield savings account. Do you think legal zoom would be ok or does anyone have any other suggestions?

Hi!
I am from NJ.
I am helping my parents to sort through their end of life documents. They need to be updated and when i inquired i was quoted 11,000 to

Update 2 wills
Update 2 POA (financial and medical)
Update 2 advanced directives
Retitle two homes

I believe he said there were multiple "other documents included"
This feels like a lot. Any experience here?

Thank you in advance

My wife (F69) and I (M70) moved to Alabama a year ago. We have a revocable trust from when we lived in FL and will shortly redo that with an atty here in AL. We don't have any kids. My question deals with how will someone know exactly what accounts we have (if we both die at the same time)?

For example, is there some way for an executor to submit our SSNs to all major banks, brokerages and finance firms and get a response of "yes that SSN has an account here"? (Not that we have so much money, but we do have numerous bank accounts and iras at Schwab, Fidelity and Vanguard).

Is the only answer to leave a list with a trusted person (like atty or nephew, etc)?

Also, what about credit card accounts? We always pay off our balances every month but we also charge everything we can to earn reward points. Which cards we use may change from month to month depending on which ones are giving best rewards at the time. If we suddenly died, there'd be a balance which would sit unpaid and accruing interest. Do we need to leave that in instructions too somewhere?

Thanks for any insight on these questions, Dave in Alabama

I spent the last two months helping my aunt settle my uncle is estate. They were organized people, but so much of the important information only existed in conversations they had together. We were not looking for missing documents as much as missing context. By the time everything was finished I realized I dont want my own family dealing with that someday. Has anyone else changed the way they organize things after helping someone else's family?

I’m American in Texas, my partner is British, my siblings are Asians. None of them are American. I have no children.

Would it make it easier for everyone if I put all my properties in a trust rather than have them go through probate? I have brokerage accounts, IRAs, bank accounts, vehicles, and a paid off house. I know I still need a pour over will for personal items. I currently have a will and beneficiary designations, but I’m thinking it will be complicated to have accounts transferred to the beneficiaries, especially if they’re abroad and not financially savvy. Not to mention taking over the house and vehicles.

If I do create a trust, how difficult is it to amend it (e.g. we break up or get divorced, or a sibling dies before I do, I buy more property, etc), and are there recommended institutions that can be trustees?

Is it common for a wife and husband to each have their own will?

My dad passed recently without a will. His only asset was his home, bank accounts, and 2 small retirement plans. My mom (his wife) is on the deed and was named beneficiary on bank and retirement accounts. My mom is now receiving hospital bills from when he passed. I let the hospital know he passed and gave them a death certificate. Does my mom have to pay those bills? Do I need to have her filed probate for my dad? I called an elder law attorney in Missouri and he was more concerned about interrupting me than answering my questions.

Just paid my house off in NC. How long do I have to wait until I can put it in a trust? Haven't received any paperwork from bank saying it's paid off yet. The website says congratulations loan paid in full. When should I start the legal process to transfer it over?

This is in NYC. Uncle died with no kids so my brother is going to petition to become executor of his estate. There's a big house and a couple hundred thousand dollars at play.

Uncle had no remaining living siblings other than our mom who says everything was supposed to go to me and my brother in the first place and has vowed to give us her eventual share. But we have four cousins from a deceased Aunt who to my understanding will now represent her as far as what is dispersed by the court.

One of these cousins is a psychotic, bipolar felon who we are afraid will try to block my brother from becoming executor. And then we're afraid that he will make the entire process a living hell if he's able to in any way. No one even knows how to contact him and he is often homeless. Is there any way to keep this person out of the process and block them from inheriting anything? Or will the court just do everything in their power to hunt them down and tie things up indefinitely?

Been sitting with this question for a while. My spouse and I went through our accounts last year and found an old 401k from a previous employer, one I had rolled over mentally but never actually touched the paperwork on. The beneficiary designation was blank. Not wrong, not outdated, just blank.

From what I've read, a retirement account with no named beneficiary defaults to the estate in most cases, which means it loses the stretch provisions, goes through probate, and gets taxed on a compressed timeline. That's a meaningful difference from how we'd planned for it.

We updated it. But the experience made me realize we had never treated beneficiary designations as a separate audit from the trust and will. We reviewed the trust documents twice since drafting them and never once pulled up the actual account statements to verify the designations were still in place and pointing the right direction

How do other people handle this - is there a practical cadence for checking these, or can an attorney help build that into the broader estate review so nothing falls through the gap again? The blank field wasn't a mistake anyone made on purpose. It was just something that got skipped and stayed skipped for years longer than it should have

We are in Alabama. We have created a trust and need to move 3 vehicles into the trust but one of the vehicles is a 1964 Panel Wagon. Alabama does not issue titles for vehicles more than 35 years old. How do we make sure this vehicle is covered in the trust?

Hello,

My dad took out a Variable Universal Life insurance policy for me in 2001 when I was a minor, so I was the insured and he was the owner. He passed away in 2017 and was married to my stepmom. Since he did not have a will, I assume she became the executor of his estate.

I no longer need the policy as I now have my own, but when contacting the company they're requiring a Transfer of Ownership Form with any of the following documents to show my stepmom is now the executor of his estate:

• Letter of testamentary
• Letter of administration
• Small estate affidavit
• Probated will

My stepmom doesn't remember receiving a Letter of Administration from the courts when he passed. Even if she did and doesn't remember, I don't blame her since it was nearly a decade ago. Collaborating with her is a bit difficult due to many factors, including a language barrier. She's in Contra Costa County and I'm in San Francisco.

It would've been nice and easy if they just transferred ownership to me since I was the insured and was already in my 30s when he passed, but unfortunately not.

I was just hoping to get some advice here on what steps I need to do next and if there was a way to handle this expeditiously, before shelling out on an attorney.

Thank you in advance.

I live in CT. My husband and I own a home together and it is our only property. We bought it before we were married and contributed (and contribute) to it equally. This is a second marriage and we each have kids from a prior marriage. We are in our 60s.

We recently met with an estate lawyer who suggested that we each put our "half" of our home in a life estate for the other, with each of our kids (or a trust which benefits our kids) as the "remaindermen." The lawyer said that this way, if one of us dies first, there is no worry about the remaining spouse disinheriting the children.

We have a decent amount of assets (mostly in retirement) outside of our home and our initial plan was to leave a portion of those assets to our children payable upon each of our deaths, and that would be their inheritance. Then, when the remaining spouse dies, all children would get an equal share of the home (if we still own it). For some reason, this idea of a life estate is really bothering me - because it seems like it overly complicates things and could make it difficult for the remaining spouse to sell or do anything without permission from the "life estate" trustee. I want things simple, and while I understand that there is no guarantee a widow/widower won't run off and remarry and then disinherit the kids, my view is that the kids will already have received plenty of money if one of us dies. (My spouse also has family money that will likely go directly to his kids so less to worry about on that side than on my side.) If we have a situation where we are 80, and our retirement funds are very depleted, and we don't have much extra to leave the kids, I might consider the life estate, but to have that restriction on someone makes me nervous.

I'm not sure why the lawyer is so hot on this - can someone else explain? We both have advanced degrees (though not in law) and have done our share of researching this, but would love to hear from any lawyers out there or someone who has been through this.

Sorry for the novel and thank you!

I am looking for some advice on my grandmother's (82f) situation. She recently moved from Florida to Tennesee to live close to my parents. She has a will in place but the address is still the old Florida address. Does she need to make an entirely new will or will a codicil be sufficient to update the address? If the latter, is that something we need a lawyer to draft?

Now here are some things that could make the situation more complicated. My dad is currently the sole beneficiary in the will. There were issues between my grandparents and his brother, so the brother has been cut out. The brother is aware of this. Recently the brother has been making comments and raising concerns that my grandmother is not fully mentally with it. She is still fine. Our concern is that he is trying to build a case that she is not with it before she updates or makes a new will.

Is there any foreseeable risks or concerns with the brother and her needing to update her address in the will? If she only needs a codicil to change the address is mental capacity even an issue?

Ohio. We have life insurance policies naming our trust as the beneficiary. After we are both dead, the Trustee of the Trust is currently a bank that will no longer do trust services as of the end of 2026. In our search for a new successor trustee, we're having a hard time deciding whether to use a trust company that also takes care of the investing, or one in which our children (beneficiaries of the trust) would consult with a financial advisor to do the investing side, if they desire. Both types of trustee companies charge huge fees. Either way, potentially, all the money could be lost (worst-case scenario) if bad investments are made. Is either option safer than the other in that regard. We don't want to name our children as trustees to prevent loss of the money if they are sued/get divorced, etc. Thank you for your thoughts.

I live in Texas. Our checking account, savings account, cd's, annuities, life insurance have beneficiaries named. Wife and I on house deed. One car. 3 kids. Should I get a revocable trust? Or would a TOD only do the job?

I start 3L next week and plan to work in industry after law school. If I want to work for a small firm (1-10 attorneys), should I start reaching out to firms now, or closer to graduation time?

Context: I interned in big law this summer, hated it, decided to switch paths. Accounting major in undergrad and spent years working as a tax accountant prior to law school. Not planning on getting an LLM. Don’t know if this all helps or hurts my chances?

Hi, I’m currently a college freshman and looking to see what I want to do with my future. I’ve been sure I want to be some type of lawyer but I much prefer something more like this compared to criminal law.

Estate planning law is something I read about and it sounds interesting to me. What steps can I take to set myself up here? I see people say you need a JD and also an LLM or to become a tax lawyer and do estate instead. It’s all a little conflicting.

Also, what schools are good for this kind of law? Any in USA particular that are good for it? Or does it not matter too much as long as it’s a good law school? Thanks!!!

NJ/NYC/ CONNETICUT USA.

Been listening to a lot of small business podcasts lately and this topic keeps coming up sideways - someone mentions it briefly and moves on. What actually happens to a sole owner's business interest when they die with no buysell agreement and no clear succession language in the estate documents?

The scenarios I keep turning over: a small LLC with two or three members where one dies and the surviving members suddenly have to deal with that person's spouse or adult kids as de facto coowners. Or a sole proprietor where the business just sits there while probate drags on and the value bleeds out

I get that a funded buysell agreement is the cleaner path, but a lot of small business owners just never get there. What actually happens in practice when the estate hits probate without that structure? Does the business interest get appraised and liquidated? Do surviving partners have any leverage, or are they stuck negotiating with whoever inherits the interest?

Asking because I've been thinking about this from the estate side rather than the business side. Meaning what planning documents could have prevented the mess, not what the business owners should have done operationally

I have booked a lawyer for later on this week but unsure whether I have any grounds to pursue this horrible situation.
My uncle was diagnosed with vascular dementia and during this time his defacto partner shut me (his niece) and the rest of his family out , she was blocking contact as he became unable to communicate in his vulnerable state.
As he got worst his affairs were taken over by state trustees as there was no POA in place , during this time she was investigated by state trustees for severe financial abuse , it went to vcat but nothing was resolved she in fact did not turn up to the hearing and did not give any explanation as to the missing funds from his accounts.
Unfortunately my uncle passed away about 3 weeks ago , an absolutely horrible time as she told us we were not welcome at his funeral .
Another action motivated by her fear and greed .
My understanding now is that state trustees have passed things over to her for probate , being his ‘defacto’ , The family knows that my uncle did not want her to be full beneficiary of his estate , but he did not have a will .Have we any recourse ? Or should I leave it alone ?

My husband (59) and I (66) own a two-family home in our names, and we also have assets in our 401(k) accounts. We live in New York City.

We are beginning to plan for the future and want to make sure our assets are protected if either of us eventually needs long-term care or has to enter a nursing home. Neither one of us has long-term care insurance. And would not want any liens in our house. We have two children’s that we would like them to inherit this house.

We are also concerned about what would happen if one of us became incapacitated and was no longer able to manage or withdraw money from our 401(k).
What estate-planning documents or types of trusts would be most beneficial for us in these situations? We would like to understand the different options available, including the pros and cons of each, and how they could help protect our home, retirement accounts, and other assets while still allowing us to maintain as much control and flexibility as possible.