By Liza Weiman Hanks NABBW’s Estate Planning Associate Dear Liza,  My father passed away recently, and all of his and my mom’s assets are held in a living trust (except an individual checking account), of which I am now the Trustee.  A few collection agencies are now contacting me about collecting on some credit card balances, which are fairly significant.   From what I’ve read online, it sounds like debt collectors might not be able to lay any claims against the trust, but they can collect from the personal estate of the deceased (i.e. checking account or other assets held in the... Read More

Dear Liza: My dad named his mother as his beneficiary, but she passed away in 2004.  My dad died in 2013 but didn’t change his beneficiary. I am my father’s only child and he has no wife, so who gets the money ?  When a person dies and there’s no surviving beneficiary named for an account, the assets would go that person’s “estate.” You don’t say what kind of account this is, but the most common kind of account with beneficiary designations would be a retirement account, so I’ll make that assumption (though most beneficiary accounts work the same way). What that means is that,... Read More

Buying Mom’s House: Be Careful By Liza Weiman Hanks NABBW’s Estate Planning Expert Dear Liza, The only asset funding my Mother’s Trust is her primary residence. However, she recently moved from CA to live with me in WA. My sister would like to purchase the home but doesn’t have the full amount. She would pay a down payment of $150,000 which would assist with my Mother’s caregivers and in-home health care. The balance approx. $150,000-$200,000 would be recorded as a Deed of Trust naming the Trustee of the Trust as the beneficiary. Would this affect or invalidate the Trust in any... Read More

What Do I Put In a Living Trust? By Liza Weiman Hanks NABBW’s Estate Planning Expert Dear Liza: I am trying to prepare a living trust on behalf of my father. He owns his home and vehicles outright and also has two bank accounts. I am the POD beneficiary of all of his accounts, as well as being a secondary signer on his checking and savings accounts. My confusion comes from not knowing what assets should be put in the living trust. Should it just be the home, since that has the highest value? Or should the cars and bank accounts also be included? Or can everything but the house be designated... Read More

Recovering Stolen Property in Probate By Liza Weiman Hanks NABBW’s Estate Planning Expert Dear Liza: I have a sister who came into my father’s house after he passed away and took the only valuable item in the house. My grandmother gave it to my father over 30 years ago. It was in the house as long as I can remember. I strongly protested and requested for her to return it back to my father’s estate since. No positive response as to date. It has been now over 2 years and we are not on talking terms. I have just been appointed as the administrator of my father’s estate. What is the... Read More