After seeing challenges and expenses arise when relatives and friends passed away without a Trust or Will, I decided to save my loved ones the paperwork, time, and mental effort while grieving by creating a Trust and Will. I did this to ensure my family and loved ones know how to distribute things when I am gone. Additionally, I learned that in the absence of a Trust and Will, the deceased person’s belongings go to Probate, where the cost can be up to 5% of the deceased’s possessions, so I wanted to avoid incurring this cost.
It’s important to note that my employer covered the costs. Before undertaking this initiative, an excellent first step is to see if your company covers this. Below are the ten(10) steps I took to set up my Trust and Will:
- Went to the Metflife site and created an account
- Selected Wills & Estates for what I needed help with
- Chose the Estate Plan Bundle
- Answered three (3) basic questions on if I wanted my wishes legally challenged if I had a child or owned assets outside the U.S.
- To start the process, I got a Member ID, Case Number for Last Will and Testament, Case Number for Power of Attorney, and Case Number for Advance Healthcare Directive.
- Got a list of attorneys near me to choose from
- Chose an attorney and gave them a call
- Set up a call with an attorney; my call was less than 15 minutes where I shared why I wanted a Trust and Will percentage allocation for my beneficiaries. The lawyer took three (3) weeks to develop a draft.
- Reviewed the draft and scheduled a notary session
- Signed the Will and Trust
- Shared my Will, Trust, Power of Attorney, and Health Care Directive with my executor
Ten (10) things to know about the process:
- During the Notary appointment, I had to have a witness outside my partner, so I encourage you to have a family member, friend, or relative be your witness.
- The benefit of a Trust is that one avoids Probate. If one doesn’t have a Trust, the Court will open a case called Probate upon someone’s death; the Court will then decide how to distribute assets over a specific amount ($184500 for C.A.) and can charge up to 5% of the property’s value.
- Have a trusted person to be your Successor Trustee(s); this needs to be someone over 18 who will work as a fiduciary (responsible for your money) and will distribute your assets when you pass. It’s better if the Successor Trustee is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. P.S. Do not have a minor as a Successor Trustee.
- Talk to the person beforehand and ensure they are comfortable and able to do this for you.
- A Will is a backup to the Trust, and one needs to pick an Executor to be in charge of the Will. The Will is meant to avoid Probate as well, and the Will should state that the final beneficiary is the Trust set up.
- One needs to pick a Durable Power of Attorney(DPA) to conduct the day-to-day financial matters on one’s behalf if one can’t communicate/becomes incapacitated, or can’t provide a signature. It’s important to know that the Durable Power of Attorney comes into effect right after signing the document.
- One should sign the Advanced Health Care Directive to discuss one’s end-of-life decisions in advance, i.e., organ donation, do not resuscitate, etc. P.S. This can be hard and uncomfortable to begin with.
- P.S. Life insurance/Retirement accounts are not probated and should not be listed in your names as trustees. This is because these accounts go directly to the primary or contingent beneficiary listed on the accounts.
- In the future, one should update the Trust when one’s family situation changes due to life events such as having kids, marriage, moving states, and a significant increase or decrease in net worth, and review the documents every three (3) years or so.
- One thing to note is that if one has minor children under 18, the children need a temporary guardian.
- There are considerations if one owns any real estate, i.e., primary residence or investment properties. Talk to a lawyer about what’s important and how to handle that.
Of course, my Will, Trust, Power Of Attorney, and Health Care Directive were straightforward and simple. The process has more nuances, and things get complicated depending on one’s possessions, situation, and setup. If you haven’t set up a Will, Trust, Power Of Attorney, and Health Care Directive, I highly encourage you to do so to save your loved ones the paperwork, time, and mental effort while grieving. Doing so gives peace of mind, given one knows that their wishes will be carried out in the event of incapacitation or death.
