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The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Sat Aug 17, 2024 9:08 am My mother's estate is contained in two trusts…a decedent's trust created when my dad died 34 years ago, and a survivor's trust created to meet my mom's needs until she passes. Both are already set up to pay out in 1/3 shares to my two brothers and me when my mom passes. There’s not going to be any fighting over it. Probate in this case…even in California…is pretty much limited to however long it takes for a death certificate to be issued and received by the bank holding the funds (in this case, Merrill Lynch). The lawyer, financial advisor, and taxes are already taken care of, and having the estate in a trust also affords considerable tax advantages. Both trusts have been carefully managed, and we'll end up having to pay a small amount of capital gains on the increase in value in the decedent's trust earned since my dad's passing.

I’m no lawyer, but the experience has been positive enough that as soon as my share of the estate's assets transfer to me, I will be setting up something similar to protect my wife's and son's interests against the time when I leave this body and go home.

I lived most of my early life like the grasshopper in the tale of the grasshopper and the ant. I never made enough money that I could salt away any significant amount, so I enjoyed what I could, when I could. It never occurred to me to consider how to protect any legacy I might have. Today, in the final 10 or 20 years of my life, I wish I had paid more attention to these things, but I am VERY blessed that my parents did. I can’t take credit for it, but I am thankful, and I would heartily recommend to anyone considering end-of-life financial issues to give trusts of various kinds a good hard look.

A Payable on Death (POD) account is an informal revocable trust account owned by one or more people expressing the intent that upon
the death of the owner(s), the deposited funds will pass to one or more named beneficiaries. A revocable trust account can be revoked,
terminated, or amended at the discretion of the owner(s).
Upon the death of the sole account owner on an individual account, or the last account owner on a joint account:
A. Any funds remaining in the account referenced above belong to the POD Beneficiary or Beneficiaries, if both surviving, or to the
survivor of them if one or more dies before the death of the sole Account Owner or the last surviving Account Owner;
B. If two or more POD Beneficiaries survive, any funds remaining on deposit belong to them in equal shares, subject to applicable law;
and
C. If two or more POD Beneficiaries survive, there is no right of survivorship in the event of death of a POD Beneficiary.

Until final payment is made to the POD Beneficiary or Beneficiaries, the Bank shall continue to operate the account according to the terms of the applicable Account Agreement and disclosures, and these POD Designation Terms and Conditions. The terms of the account may not be altered by Will or other testamentary instrument.

C-dub wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2024 7:44 am

puma guy wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 6:17 pm Maybe a dumb question. Was their no beneficiary named on the account?

There was to three grandchildren. When I was notified of its maturity I went to the bank with her Will that shows me as executor, certificate of death, and they cut me a cashier check to the estate of my mom. I didn't know they were going to do that right then and only found out about the letter and having to open a special account when I took it to my bank to ask about how to handle it.

My bank told me that once the account was created they would deposit it there and I could distribute the funds according to her Will and the close the account since it would be empty. They just didn’t say how difficult or how much it would cost to get there.