Could This Happen to your Family?
Thursday, April 8th, 2021 | Uncategorized | No Comments
By Yvonne Marsh, CFP®, CPA
Well, it happened again. I got a call from an adult daughter whose dad had just died, and she and her four siblings could not find the will. I knew her dad, and we agreed that there was no way he would have left them hanging like that. He was an organized, methodical man. Her mom had already passed, and there was literally no one to ask. They turned his house upside down, visited several banks looking for a safe deposit box, and finally had to hire an attorney to help them get the daughter established as an executor. You can imagine how hard this was for the family, trying to plan a funeral and contain their grief, while feeling adrift from knowing what their dad’s final wishes really were.
I wish I could say I’ve never seen this scenario play out before, but that wouldn’t be true. So here’s my chance to be your little nudge to ensure your family doesn’t find themselves in this same tragic predicament. I suggest you:
• Get your legal planning done NOW, including an updated will, financial powers of attorney and healthcare directives.
• Tell your executor where your original will is kept. (They cannot probate a copy; it must be the original)
• If your will is in a safe deposit box, make the executor a signatory and give them a key.
• If your kids will inherit pre-tax IRA money, put a note on your will that says “Stop! Do nothing until you talk to a qualified CPA or tax professional”. You can’t un-ring the tax bell if they make a wrong move.
• Check your beneficiary designations on all IRA’s and 401k’s and make sure you have named primary and back-up beneficiaries to keep those accounts out of your probate estate.
We’ve also created a Sound Solutions Checklist to help you inventory your personal, financial and legal affairs and give your family a lighted path to follow when that day comes. It’s yours; free, to download at www.marshwealth.com/checklist. Trust me, they’ll thank you for it.
Marsh Wealth Management, LLC
Fiduciary Registered Investment Advisor
504 Ebenezer Road
Knoxville, TN 37923
865.622.2162
www.marshwealth.com
