Family trust
My husband and I have a trust. He has since passed away. I am the trustee and it outlines our children as beneficiaries after I pass away. Do all my bank accounts, investment accounts, home title… have to be in the trust name or are they ok in my name with the beneficiary being my oldest son who is also the executor of the trust? The home title is still in my husband and my name.
Thank you! I couldn’t get through when you were speaking on WGN
Terry Says
Now is the time to go back to your estate plannign attorney (if you know who that was) and CHANGE the Trust!!
You need to name your son as the new successor trustee. You MUST retitle the house in the name of your revocable living trust. The lawyer will give you the necessary trust document to present to your mortgage company or to the title company. Do not delay or you will cause huge problems!
Your retirement plan accounts should have named beneficiaries. However, if you inherited an IRA from your spouse, you should check with the custodian to make sure you are taking the correct withdrawals every year (which depends on whether he had started taking his RMDs). And you should name your son as beneficiary of that inherited IRA.
All other major accounts, including bank CDs, should be retitled in the name of your newly-adjusted Revocable Living Trust. Only your daily checking account and car title should remain in your own name.
Please do not procrastinate!
And if you no longer know the name of your estate planning attorney, find one using the search engine here: https://search-attorneys.com/ Or ask for a recommendation of an estate planning attorney at your local bank.
