Boston Elder Law Blog

Answering that question could help you choose who you would like to fulfill that role. When you started estate planning, you probably discovered that having a revocable living trust would greatly benefit you and your family. You serve as the trustee and still use and control your assets, which includes putting assets in and taking them out when necessary.

The question then becomes what happens after you pass away? You will need to appoint a successor trustee to take over the administration of your trust. You may want to know more about what he or she will need to do in order to successfully undertake this task.

If you have high-value assets, you may be concerned about what will happen to them upon your death. Most people want to pass on their hard work and good fortune to their loved ones. Here are four steps that position your assets, so they may be passed down to your loved ones, or whoever you choose.

1. Make a will. The first step in ensuring your family receives your assets is to make a will. Your will documents who you would like to receive which assets.
2. Name a beneficiary. Name one or multiple beneficiaries for your will, trust(s), or life insurance policy. Make sure you include all of your assets when naming beneficiaries.
3. Set up a trust fund. A trust fund is usually a combination of stocks, bonds, cash, real estate, business holdings, paintings, cars, antiques, or other assets. It combines one or more of these assets into a single document for a beneficiary. A will explains how you want your assets distributed and a trust fund ensures that they are distributed according to your wishes.
4. Gift your money. One of the easiest ways to ensure your money goes to the person of your choosing is to simply give it to them. The IRS allows gifts of up to $14,000 per person per year. Gifting your money allows you to give money to your loved ones, tax-free before you die.

Reason 1: With a will, you decide

Dying without a will means the decisions are made without you. You have no voice in who raises your children or what happens to your money, property or pets.

Most guardianship hearings focus on whether to allow a guardian to make ordinary personal and medical decisions. How does the court make guardianship decisions if the adult needs someone to make extraordinary medical decisions?

In Massachusetts, those hearings are called Rogers Guardianship hearings, named after the 1983 decision Rogers v. Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health.