National Estate Planning Awareness Month

October is National Estate Planning Awareness Month making this the perfect time to ensure you have the right plan in place for you and your family. The right estate plan allows you to control how your assets will pass upon your incapacity or death. It allows you to express your values and wishes when you are no longer able to do so. Here are a few questions to ask yourself this month.  

1. Do I have the right documents in place?

The essential estate planning documents include your Last Will and Testament, Trust, Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy, and Living Will. In addition, another powerful tool includes beneficiary designations. A Will or Trust acts as a roadmap for your executor or trustee and provides directions on how to handle your affairs after you pass. Your Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy and Living Will allow you to name an agent to make financial decisions or health care decisions for you in the event you are unable to do so. A Beneficiary Designation is a form which allows you to specify to whom specific accounts will pass. You will want to review your files to make sure you have the right documents in place and confirm that the documents represent your wishes.

2. Do I need a Trust?

A trust is a legal document that allows the creator (the “Grantor”) to transfer assets to a third party (the “Trustee”) to hold, protect, and administer in accordance with the terms of the trust document. A trust allows the Grantor to specify how, when and for what purposes the trust assets may be used, during and after the life of the Grantor. The decision of whether a trust is right for you, and which type of trust can help accomplish your specific goals, should be made in consultation with your financial advisor and estate planning attorney. Choosing the right type of trust will depend on your goals and estate planning needs.

3. Do I have the right Executor or Trustee named in my documents? Do I need a Corporate Fiduciary (trustee and/or executor)?

This is a great time to review who you named as your fiduciaries. An Executor is the person or corporation named in your Will who takes on the responsibility for wrapping up your affairs and carrying out the directions in your Will. Similarly, a Trustee is the person or corporation responsible for the management of a trust, whose responsibilities include administering the trust in accordance with the terms of the governing document, making distributions, filing trust tax returns, and terminating the trust when it has reached its end. Financial institutions, such as Tompkins Financial Advisors, are often named as corporate fiduciary because of their unbiased nature and level of expertise. Naming Tompkins may also alleviate the burden of trust administration on family members who may not have the time, ability, or expertise to serve as a trustee.

Estate Planning is an ongoing process that is never too late to begin. Reach out to your Tompkins advisor to discuss your plan.