Funding Estate Plans—Issues for Spouses to Consider

Post-death funding of trusts requires costly probateproceedings that can be avoided by spouses if they plan ahead.  To avoid probate, spouses should establishrevocable trusts and divide marital property into them equally. 

Spouses should retitle bank accounts, brokerage accounts,mutual fund accounts and also vehicles in the names of their revocabletrusts.  Certificated stocks and bonds,closely-held business interests, and real property should also be transferredto the spouses’ revocable trusts.  Lifeinsurance policies and retirement plan accounts do not need to be transferredto revocable trusts.

See Stephen J.Dunn, Estate Plan Funding for Spouses,Forbes, May 27, 2013.

Special thanks toJim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringingthis article to my attention.