Signing your estate documents in your attorney’s office is only the first step. Here are four things you should do after, and in some states, could save you thousands of dollars.
Transfer your home
The point of executing a trust is to avoid probate court, which can cost you thousands of dollars and take much of your time. The first thing you want to do is move your home into your trust.
Update beneficiaries
The next thing you want to do is to make sure all your beneficiary and contingent beneficiary information are up to date on your tax-deferred accounts like your 401k, Roth IRA, IRA and your insurance policies.
That’s because since you first opened those accounts, you might have gotten married, had children or gone through other life changes, so it’s important to review those and make sure they are up to date.
Transfer large property
If you have a large taxable brokerage account like a stock account, mutual account or a large savings account somewhere, it might make sense for you to move that into a trust account.
Complete an Estate Organizer
The last but very important task is to complete an estate organizer. I’ll go more into detail about this in my next video, but essentially it is a document that organizes your entire personal financial life, so that your family doesn’t have to.
About Michael
Do you need help preparing for retirement? Contact me today to set up a meeting to talk about your goals. You can also download my free ebook for physicians for tips and information about getting your finances on track.