I Have a Will, Now What?

Getting your estate planning documents is the first step but it does not mean that the process is complete, you still need to make sure that all your assets are going to who you want to receive them. 

The following things need to be done immediately after you have your Will in place in order to avoid probate:

• Real Estate.  All Kansas real estate should have been included on Transfer on Death Deeds listing your set beneficiaries for the property.  We always include deeds as to any Kansas real estate as part of our estate planning practice but not all law firms do.  However, if you purchase additional real estate after the fact you will need to ensure that a new Transfer on Death Deed is executed for that new property. 

• Bank Accounts.  You need to make sure that all your bank accounts have a beneficiary designation on them.  We recommend just asking your bank the next time you go into a branch for them to check that all your accounts have a beneficiary designation and who is listed. We also do not recommend that you have a third-party who is not your spouse as the co-owner of your accounts because if there is a garnishment issued in the name of that third-party all the funds in your account could be taken for said garnishment.  It is better to make them an authorized signer if you want them to have access to your account during your life. 

• Retirement Accounts (IRA, 401k, 403b or similar plans).  You should complete the appropriate beneficiary designation for these accounts.  We recommend next time you meet with your advisor to verify the current designations and that every account is covered.

• Life Insurance.  If you have any life insurance policies now is a good time to verify that named beneficiaries are who you intend to receive the funds. 

• Vehicles.  We would encourage you to complete the necessary forms with the tag office to designate a transfer on death beneficiary for any vehicles you now own or will own in the future. 

If the steps listed above are not taken, then it is likely that a probate will be required to allow for the transfer of certain assets and such could be quite costly.  We have had several recent probate matters where a party did not get beneficiary designations on all of their accounts resulting in probate being required to transfer those accounts.  Had that parent merely double checked their designations as we encourage the heirs would have saved several thousand dollars related to the costs to probate the Estate.

Once you have gotten all the proper designations on your assets as detailed above there are a few things that you will need to keep in mind long term. 

• Change in Circumstances.  Determine if your circumstances have changes such that your current estate plan no longer fits your needs.  We often have people that will set up a Trust when their children are younger in case something happens to them, and now it is 30 years later and their children are all competent adults, and the Trust is no longer needed.  The alternative is also true that you had a will based estate plan but now you own several properties and businesses making you a good candidate for a Trust.  A good estate planning attorney can help you revise your estate plan to fit your current needs. 

• Loss of Someone.  If something happens to someone that you have named as an Executor, Trustee, Attorney-in-Fact (Power of Attorney) you should take steps with your attorney to have your documents updated so that there are people still designated in those positions.  We have often seen where someone had documents such as a Power of Attorney drafted and when they actually needed it none of the named individuals were still living.  Therefore, review of these documents every few years is a good idea and make sure that you still want the people you have listed to hold those positions going forward.

• Original Documents. You need to maintain your original estate planning documents. Under Kansas law the original Will must be filed with the Court after death.  If a Will cannot be located after your death there is a presumption that the Will has been revoked.  Therefore, you should keep your original documents in a safe location known to your Executor so that they can be located upon the event of your death.  Further, your Will cannot be amended by crossing out words and sentences, or by making handwritten changes to the original. Any changes must be undertaken with the formalities otherwise required for execution of a Will.

If at any time you determine that changes are needed for your Estate Planning documents, you should reach out to a local attorney to make sure that all changes are done to comply with state law.  There are many pitfalls that can occur when trying to use documents found online or by trying to execute documents by yourself that may result in the documents being invalid.  As always Minter & Pollak, LC offers free estate planning consultations including those to review existing documents to see if they need to be updated. Please contact us at 316-265-0797 to set up a time for your free consultation.