SOT: Contingency plan? Options

[smontanaro]

Sorry to inject a rather morbid topic into the forum, however...

After much procrastination my wife and I are getting set to have wills drawn up. One thing that occurs to me is that while I would obviously leave my 914 to her, she would have no interest in it and would almost certainly want to sell it in the event of my (untimely) demise. I'd like to be as prepared as possible for that contingency to make things as easy for her as I can. One thing I need to do is make sure she's on the title so she doesn't need to wait for my will to be probated to take ownership of the car. What other things should I do? What kind of instructions should I leave for her to make it as easy as possible to sell the car without getting ripped off? Should I contact somebody local who can help her sell it? (I live in the Chicago area, so Brad Mayeur comes to mind.)

Thanks,

Skip

[Chuck]

I'm an attorney. Estate planning is one of the areas I practice in.

Some things to think about:

1. You should be thinking about probate for all your assets, not just teeners. Any asset held in your name would generally need to pass through probate. That is why many people choose to do revocable trusts instead of wills. Trusts can be set up with you as trustee and a spouse as co-trustee or a successor trustee. Assets owned in the trust generally do not need to pass through probate. A will is a little simpler and easier at the front-end but then you have the time and expense of probate at the back-end. A trust takes a little longer and can be a bit more expensive in order to title/transfer assets into the trust at the front-end but then makes up for it with saving time and money at the back end with avoiding probate.

2. You may also want to consider setting up trusts for your children as well as guardians for them, especially if they are minors.

3. You may also want to consider provisions whereby a surviving spouse cannot "spend the wad" and leave the children with nothing. Or even end up whereby it goes to the surviving spouse's new spouse.

4. Finally, you'll want to consider having a power of attorney in place and a health care directive so that if you become incapacitated, it is clear who has authority to make decisions for you and what your wishes are in the event that occurs.

Congratulations on doing this. Everyone should and too few do.

I'd suggest that if you haven't already, you at least make an appointment with an attorney to discuss all of this in greater detail and get your questions answered.