People sometimes pick up on ideas that circulate regarding estate planning without obtaining professional advice. As a result they may take particular actions that are not going to serve the best interests of their families in the long run.
Legal assistance is essential when you are serious about making preparations for the future. A little bit of information is a dangerous thing and when you proceed without the guidance of an Indianapolis estate planning attorney your family may wind up regretting your decision to go it alone.
With this in mind you would do well to think long and hard before depending on payable on death or transfer on death accounts to get assets into the hands of your loved ones after you pass away.
The way that these accounts work is that you name a beneficiary or beneficiaries who would assume ownership of the assets placed into the account after you pass away. This would take place outside of the process of probate quickly and efficiently if all goes well so we are not saying that these accounts have absolutely no value.
However, there are some potential difficulties that you may want to consider before going this route. For one thing, there is the issue of incapacitation. The beneficiary does not have access to the resources when the primary account holder is still alive but incapacitated.
You also have to understand the rules of the institution that is housing the account with regard to multiple beneficiaries. Sometimes you are not allowed to give different percentages to the beneficiaries based on your own wishes and this may present a problem.
Transfer on death accounts have severe limitations, and this is something to be aware of when you are considering ways to pass along assets to your loved ones.
Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
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