• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Thompson Law

Estate & Business Planning Attorneys in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

605-362-9100
Estate Planning Attorneys Licensed in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Client Testimonials
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Our Team
  • Services
    • Asset Protection & Business Planning
    • Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Review
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Incapacity Planning
    • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Succession Planning
    • Trust Administration & Probate
  • Español
    • Sobre Nuestra Firma
    • Administración de Fideicomisos y Sucesiones
    • Servicios de Planificación Patrimonial
    • Protección de Bienes & Planificación Empresarial
  • Reports
    • Advanced Estate Planning
    • Basic Estate Planning
    • Estate Planning for Niches
    • Trust Administration
  • Resources
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law Reports
    • FAQs +
      • Estate Planning
      • Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Trust Administration & Probate
    • Newsletters
    • Professional Resources
  • Seminars
  • Contact Us
  • Blog

Updating Your Plan: Your Trust or Will

January 19, 2021 by Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

This is the second in a two-part series of articles on updating your plan. This first article examined the importance of updating the Powers of Attorney, both Financial and Medical. This second part of the series looks at the importance of updating your primary estate planning document, such as your trust or will. Together, these documents form the core of even the most basic estate plan and it’s important to keep them up-to-date.

Every state has laws controlling what happens to your assets if you die owning them in your name and don’t leave instructions indicating what you want to happen to those assets. Those laws are called “intestate succession” laws. While they are designed to cover what people will want generally, they often aren’t what you want to happen in your precise situation. For example, state law might leave the assets equally to your children outright. You may prefer unequal shares for your children due to your situation. Also, you may prefer to have the assets held in trust. For example, a beneficiary might have special needs and an outright distribution could deprive them of needs-based benefits. A will is how you leave instructions to override the intestate succession laws. If you have assets in your name at death, they will be subject to probate and will be controlled by your will, if it exists, or intestate succession.

However, you can have your assets owned by a revocable trust. If you do that, your assets won’t be in your name at death and they won’t have to go through the probate process. The probate process may be more or less expensive and time-consuming depending upon the jurisdiction. But, it’s almost always a public process. A revocable trust allows for streamlined management of your assets. While you’re alive and well, typically you’d be the trustee, in other words, the person managing those assets. Upon your incapacity, the person you’ve chosen as your successor trustee would step into that role. This incapacity protection can be invaluable. It’s much easier than if you don’t have a trust holding your assets.

Whether you’ve chosen a will or a trust as the engine of your estate plan, it’s important to re-examine your plan periodically to be sure it’s doing what you want. Are you comfortable with the successor trustees who would take over in the event of your incapacity? Are you comfortable with who would get your money, when, and how?

Many things can happen in the course of a year. This is especially true in a year like this one! It’s good to take a look at your plan and make sure it’s still consistent with your wishes.

As a bonus for this series, the next blog in the series will examine the need to keep your beneficiary designations up-to-date for changes in your circumstances, wealth, and wishes.

Stephen C. Hartnett, J.D., LL.M.
Director of Education
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
Click to read original article at aaepa.com.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys
Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys
Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys
Latest posts by Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys (see all)
  • The Joy in Joint Trusts - May 16, 2023
  • How Tax and Non-Tax Considerations Impact Estate Planning – Part II - May 8, 2023
  • How Tax and Non-Tax Considerations Impact Estate Planning – Part I - May 1, 2023

Filed Under: Legal Education, Estate Planning

Primary Sidebar

News Categories

  • Video
  • Legal Education
  • Estate Planning
  • Event
  • Attorney
  • Estate Planning
  • Elder Law
  • taxation
  • General

Sign-Up to Receive Email Updates

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube

Thompson Law, PLLC

Thompson Law, PLLC.
5027 S. Western Avenue
Sioux Falls, SD 57108
Phone: 605-362-9100
Fax: (605) 362-9101

Our phone number can also receive text messages!

Footer

Footer Logo

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, emails, or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Disclaimer | Site Map | Powered by American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

© 2023 Thompson Law, PLLC, All Rights Reserved.