What Every Muskegon Family Should Review

A Solid Estate Plan Keeps Muskegon Wealthy

Muskegon is a great place to live. It has 3 of my favorite beaches along all of the Lake Michigan shoreline, a vibrant culture, and a real community of caring people.

Estate planning is important for Muskegon families, because a solid estate plan keeps wealth in your family. The more wealth we keep in your family, the more wealth we keep in Muskegon. The more wealth we keep in Muskegon, the more we can buy and sell from each other’s businesses and support one another, and the more Muskegon grows.

But, none of this happens without planning. As printed on the office door of my high school’s athletic director: “Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.” In the context of estate planning, I would adapt it thusly: “Proper Planning Prevents Probate”.

Probate Court is the bugaboo where families go to fight over their loved ones’ money. It can cost dearly in attorney fees, wasted time, and heartache. Is a court fight, on top of grieving, the legacy you want to leave for your children? Remember, Proper Planning Prevents Probate. So, what is a proper plan? Let’s break it down by assets, and review your estate plan to make sure it is working properly.

1.     The House

The House is typically the largest store of wealth for a family. When we tally everything in an estate up, the house is usually the largest portion of that number. So, if we can protect the house, we’re most of the way towards a protecting your wealth.

When you review an estate plan, make sure there is a plan for the house. This often looks like a ladybird deed, which passes the house to a beneficiary outside of probate court. Sometimes it looks like a deed into trust, which gives the property to a trust – and then the trustee complies with whatever the requirements of the trust agreement say. Sometimes it looks like deed naming a parent and their child as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, though this has dangers. Sometimes it looks like a Last Will and Testament giving the house to a beneficiary, but a Last Will and Testament does not avoid probate court, it instead merely tells the Judge in probate court who is supposed to receive the home. All too often, there is no plan. That’s when you need to call me.

2.     Financial Accounts

Your bank, investment manager, and retirement administrators are all required by law to lock down your accounts as soon as you die. Nobody can access them unless they are thereafter granted access by a Court.

You can skip your family going to probate court for your financial accounts by naming a “pay on death beneficiary” for these accounts during your lifetime. This is a sidestep. Instead of going to probate court, your beneficiaries can bring to your financial institution a death certificate and ID, then get instant access to the money you set aside for them as beneficiary. If you have a trust, make sure you name the trustee as the beneficiary of the account, and make sure the financial institution has the Certificate of Trust on file. This will make things very smooth for your Trustee when the time comes.

Make sure you review and update all beneficiary designations on all of your financial accounts, and if you open new accounts, immediately ask to make beneficiary designations on them.

3.     Personal Property

Personal property is the stuff that you can pick up and move around, or even drive or fly around. It includes cars, trucks, boats, airplanes, jewelry, antiques, furniture, televisions, and any other of your belongings.

As part of your review for these items, if you have antiques, catalog and value them so that your beneficiaries, Trustees, and Personal Representatives (or Executors) know what they are worth. You can have a transfer on death designation for any titled vehicle. Most Wills and Trusts have a provision that allows handwritten instructions for the distribution of personal property. Make sure you fill that out legibly.

4.     Businesses

An interest in an ongoing business can be a wonderful legacy left to your beneficiaries. Many businesses have a Shareholder Agreement or Operating Agreement that sets out a business succession plan. This is a perfectly viable way to give a business to another person upon death. When you review it, make sure it makes clear logical sense to you. However, the business could instead be held, ran, and eventually distributed through a trust. There may be certain reasons to hold many businesses in a trust – like Standard Oil. If you want to be a Rockefeller, call me and we can discuss some exotic options to control and protect your business and eventually distribute it to your beneficiaries.

5.     Electronic Assets and Data

These are somewhat new in estate planning. Electronic assets, such as cryptocurrency, are typically very well protected by a number of pass phrases, biometric protection, and passkeys. Your data, email, phone, and digital wallet may also be tricky for even a trusted person to access. When you review these kinds of assets, make sure you are giving the required information to a very trusted person. You could even put the information on paper, put it in a safe deposit box at a bank, and then tell the trusted person where to find the key. You could even lose the key, and still your heirs, trustee, or personal representative can get the safe deposit box opened using a relatively simple (and limited) probate process. As long as your people and access what they need to, and you are also protecting your digital information, you should be in the clear.

These are the recommended steps to review your estate plan, or the estate plan of someone in your family. Proper Planning Prevents Probate, and a proper review can make the difference between proper planning and poor performance. If you want to keep wealth in your family as much as I do, make sure your plan is solid. If you are unsure, call me and I’d be happy to review it with you.