Private Wealth & Trust Services

State law determines who inherits property that does not pass through a beneficiary designation, joint ownership, trust, or another nonprobate arrangement. Those rules may not reflect your wishes, especially if you have a blended family, an unmarried partner, stepchildren, or people or charities you want to support. A court will appoint someone, called a personal representative or administrator, to administer the estate and, if necessary, decide who will care for minor children. An estate plan lets you make those choices yourself and simplifies the process for the people handling your affairs.

The right documents depend on what you own, who you want to inherit your property, and who should make financial and healthcare decisions if you can’t make them yourself. A basic estate plan may include a will, a financial power of attorney, and an advance medical directive. Depending on your circumstances, it may also include a revocable or irrevocable trust, documents nominating guardians for minor children, and planning for a family business or a beneficiary with special needs. You also need to coordinate beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance, and other assets with your plan.

It depends on your assets, family circumstances, and goals. A will states who should receive property that passes through probate and nominates guardians for minor children. If you prefer that your assets to pass to your loved ones without going through the court-supervised process of settling an estate, called probate, consider a trust. A revocable living trust, which you can change, and an irrevocable trust, which you generally cannot change, avoid probate and offer a way to manage those assets if you become unable to do so yourself. Many people use both: a trust as the primary planning document and a will to address property that they never transferred to the trust. Legal counsel can help you decide whether the additional work of creating and maintaining a trust makes sense.

An executor administers an estate under a will and court supervision. A trustee manages and distributes assets held in a trust. Depending on the role, those responsibilities may include locating and protecting assets, notifying beneficiaries and creditors, paying valid expenses and taxes, keeping records, preparing accountings, and distributing property. Executors and trustees are fiduciaries, which means they must follow the governing documents and applicable law and act in the beneficiaries’ interests. A fiduciary who breaches those duties may be held personally responsible for resulting losses.

A court may appoint a guardian, conservator, or both when an adult can no longer make or communicate important personal or financial decisions. A guardian generally handles decisions involving care and living arrangements, while a conservator generally manages finances and property. The names and responsibilities of these roles vary by state. Planning documents, such as powers of attorney and advance medical directives, may avoid or limit the need for court involvement, but they may not resolve every situation. An attorney can help you evaluate the options and navigate the court process when an appointment is necessary.

It can, depending on your estate’s size, the state where you live or own property, and who you want to inherit your property. Your estate plan may address federal or state estate taxes, gift taxes, generation-skipping transfer taxes, capital gains, and income taxes affecting trusts and beneficiaries. However, you should weigh tax planning against other considerations, including control, flexibility, creditor protection, and your family members’ needs. Ask an estate planning attorney and your tax and financial advisers for help considering the options.

Periodic review can catch changes in the law, outdated beneficiary designations, unfunded trusts, and documents that no longer reflect your wishes. Always review the plan after a major life event, such as a marriage, a divorce, a birth, an adoption, a death, a move to another state, a change in assets, a sale or purchase of a business, or a change in the health or capacity of someone named in the documents. You should also review it when an executor, trustee, guardian, agent, or beneficiary is no longer the right choice.

Yes, if you have a legal interest in the estate or trust and a legal basis to challenge the document. Possible grounds may include lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud, forgery, or failure to follow signing requirements. Disagreement with the outcome alone is not enough. Because deadlines are often short, speak with an attorney as soon as you suspect a problem.

Start by deciding what you want to happen. You may want a family member to take over, sell the company to employees or an outside buyer, or wind it down. Your succession plan should set forth who will own and manage the business, how and when ownership will transfer, how to value the company, and how to fund the transaction. The plan may include a buy-sell agreement, update governing documents, or direct how to prepare for a leadership transition. Beginning early gives you time to prepare a successor, address disagreements, and make changes as your circumstances evolve.