Barbara Bush was one of our country’s most cherished Grande Dames of politics and we were all saddened recently when she passed. With her signature white hair and pearls and her no-nonsense attitude, we were a little in awe, as well as inspired, by her example of family loyalty, faith, public service and good manners. She broke boundaries as the First Lady and championed education issues in her life, while remaining a loving wife and strong matriarch for her family. Regardless of what you think of her family’s politics, Barbara Bush was a woman to be admired.
Part of her legacy will now be the grace and dignity with which she managed her end of life. Surrounded by family at her home, she left this earth with the peace and comfort that we all might aspire to. Achieving that smooth and tranquil transition requires some planning, however. There are certain things that can and should be arranged and recorded ahead of time so that one’s loved ones are not unduly burdened and so that your own comfort and care are well-managed.
Caroline Feeney, in an article on www.wealthmanagement.com, recently outlined some of the lessons learned by watching Barbara Bush. We think these are valuable to review.
- Understand Probate – Anyone who has been through probate will tell you to avoid it! Probate can be expensive, time-consuming and becomes part of the public record. Protecting your assets with proper titling and using a revocable or living trust can keep assets from going through the probate system. All revocable trusts remain private and anyone can set one up for their beneficiaries.
- Plan for Contingencies – Think of all the scenarios that might come up. Select trustees and successor trustees with care and with a back-up plan. Consider the age, health and circumstances of beneficiaries, like substance addiction or divorce protection, when determining the age or terms of your designations.
- Personal Property Memorandum – These are the softer, more sentimental items that you own. Houses and cars are protected by a trust or designated titling and a personal property memo provides a plan for the smaller tangible items. Someone will have to address these personal belongings when you are gone and, since you know them best, you should outline your plans for taking care of them. You only need to refer to the memo in a will or trust for it to be legally recorded. The list can be changed and updated, as you see fit, without involving a lawyer each time!
- Palliative Care – Less than 30% of people have a Health Care Power of Attorney (HCPOA) that spells out the kind of care you want to receive and the people that you want making the decisions on your behalf if you cannot. The HCPOA allows an agent to make health care decisions, if you are incapacitated, for things like life support, tube feeding or organ donation. Consider those that might not be overcome with grief as agents who are tasked to comply with your wishes.
- Prepare an inventory of all accounts – This includes a list of all bank and investment accounts with passwords, as well as all digital assets, including social media accounts. You can use a password vault or keep a handwritten list in a safe and then give access to one of your designated trustees.
- Have Tax Planning Up to Date – The estate tax limits have increased in 2018 ($11.2M individual/$22.4M married couple), so most of us will not need to worry about estate taxes, unless the legislation changes again! It is still a good idea to have all of your information gathered, organized and up to date to make it easier for your executors, trustees and beneficiaries.
- Designated Beneficiary Planning – We always help our clients make sure that all assets are titled properly, including real estate, investment accounts, qualified plans, bank accounts and life insurance policies.
- Review Plan Regularly – Once you have a good plan in place, you should review it every year or two or as there are any life changes. At DWM, we keep copies of your documents with our own summary “estate flow” to help manage this.
- Use Professionals! – This includes a recommended estate attorney to prepare your plan, as well as a professional wealth manager, like DWM, to review it.
- Everyone Can Have an Estate Plan – You don’t need to be a famous, well-connected political icon, like Barbara Bush, to be thoroughly prepared.
Estate planning can be a daunting and sometimes complicated task. Many of our clients have trepidation about the process when starting, but every one of them feel a great deal of relief and accomplishment when they have done all the work and have a good estate plan in place. Helping our clients navigate all of the requirements and considerations of estate planning is a very important and satisfying part of what we do at DWM. We are not lawyers, but we know our clients well and can help them understand the many objectives and appropriate pieces of a good customized estate plan. Please let us know if you would like to review your estate plan with us!