Many of us are in the midst of spring cleaning, or, this year, the deeper, extended COVID cleaning.
As part of cleaning process, consider cleaning up your estate plan. Organize the documents and information relevant to your estate plan for your own reference, and for the ultimate ease and convenience of your estate trustees.
There are many websites that offer tips on organizing and simplifying your estate documents. There are apps available to help organize and store your information.
As a starting point, BDO has produced a comprehensive list, “My Financial Story and Estate Organizer”, that can be completed by the testator and left in a readily accessible place: perhaps with the testator’s Estate Trustees.
I have seen too many estates where a person passes away leaving a state of chaos. Often, it is not known whether the person left a Will, or who the estate trustee is. This presents immediate problems when trying to address the steps necessary upon death, such as making or implementing burial decisions. In addition, after burial, the estate trustee is often scrambling to find out what assets the deceased had, and where they are.
This game of cat and mouse can be readily avoided by listing what and where your assets are. Not making such a list is simply vexatious.
Remember Gerald Cotten? He was the founder of QuadrigaCX who died in 2018. He was the only one who knew the password to access the $137m or more of holdings of the company’s clients. Leaving an organized estate plan (or even a sticky note with a password scrawled on it) would have eased a lot of tension. See Natalia Angelini’s blog on this, here.
The issues that arise upon one’s death are difficult in the best of cases. Make them easier to address by organizing your affairs so as to assist your estate trustees. Take advantage of the time available now to clean up your estate plan.
Have a great weekend. Stay safe.