Estate Planning Basics - The Good Shepherd Fund

Some Estate Planning Basics
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Everyone needs a WILL

Even those people who plan to transfer all of their property by a living trust or joint tenancy should prepare a will to back up these other transfer devices. You need a will to….. (more…)

A Revocable Living Trust

A Revocable Living Trust is a legal document that, to many of us, looks much like a will. And like a will, it includes your instructions for whom you want to handle your final affairs and whom you want to receive your assets after you die. But, unlike a will, a Living trust…. (more…)

A Living Will

A living will is a document you sign giving your doctor instructions about your care and about medical decision-making. See your attorney for more information.

Power of Attorney

A general power of attorney allows the holder of the power to act on your behalf. It lapses upon the grantor’s incompetence. A durable power of attorney survives the incompetence of the grantor and permits the holder of the power to act. See your attorney for more information.

Special Needs Trust

A special needs trust benefiting an individual with disabilities can be created separately or as part of a will or living trust.

Everyone needs a Will

You need a will to:

Direct the distribution of your assets to those you care about most.
Choose a personal representative (executor) who will oversee the distribution of your assets.
Provide for family members, friends, or relatives.
Nominate personal guardians for your minor children or special needs child.
Nominate a conservator or guardian for your adult child with disabilities.
Provide support for charitable causes that have had special meaning for you, such as The Good Shepherd Fund.

Without a will:

The state statute determines the distribution of your property.
The court appoints an administrator for you.
Heirs benefit equally by class and not in proportions you would have intended.
You cannot provide for minors as the court will appoint a guardian for you.

Creating your will

It is highly recommended that you have your will prepared by an attorney and executed according to state guidelines. Here are some steps necessary for a will to be legal.

It should be in writing.
It should be signed by the one creating the will.
It should be acknowledged to be the will of the one who signs it.
It should be dated.

Witnesses, who are not beneficiaries of the will, must witness the signature of the person who creates the will and must also sign the will. Remember that a will is revocable. It does not become irrevocable until you die. You may change it at any time. It is important that you periodically review your will to make sure that it is current.

Creating a Special Needs Trust

Many parents choose to create a Special Needs Trust and fund it for their child with a developmental disability or other disabling condition through their will or living trust. They may have established a special needs trust for their child while living, with minimal funding, and then have funded the trust at their death through their will or living trust.

Sometimes a Special Needs Trust is established and funded within the Will or Living Trust. Here the Special Needs Trust is established at their death. Funding a Special Needs Trust, in any amount, through an estate, gift does not disqualify the individual for government benefits and provides a way for parents to inherit all children equally. Many parents name The Good Shepherd Fund as the final beneficiary after the child’s death.

For more information, contact the Reverend Dr. Ron Beckman CFRE, +1 303 474 4609.

A Revocable Living Trust

A Revocable Living Trust is like a will in that it includes your instructions for whom you want to handle your final affairs and whom you want to receive your assets after you die. However, it is unlike a will in that it does not go through probate. The court does not control your assets at death and incapacity. It gives you – not the courts—control over the assets you leave to your family member or a child with a special need.

Assets titled in just your name in a will may need to go through a probate process before they can go to your beneficiaries. But assets that you re-title in the name of your Living Trust avoid probate and can go straight to your beneficiaries. It is especially important, then, that you properly fund your Living Trust. You do not want to leave your Living Trust unfunded – because anything you leave out of your trust will probably have to go through probate when you die and would be subject to court control if you become incapacitated. Assets that have been placed in the Living Trust avoid probate at death.

You can provide for your spouse, child, sibling, parent, or other loved one who is physically, mentally or developmentally disabled – from birth, illness, or injury -- through a Special Needs Trust in your Living Trust. With a Special Needs Trust within your Living Trust you can provide for a disabled loved one without interfering with his/her benefits.

The Special Needs Trust should be very specific in stating that its purpose is to supplement government benefits – that is, to provide benefits only above and beyond the benefits the disabled person receives from any governmental agency. To make sure the beneficiary does not have any implied ownership in the trust assets, the Special Needs Trust should give the Trustee complete control over the distribution of the assets and any income they generate. The Good Shepherd Fund may be named the Trustee for beneficiaries who are developmentally disabled - contact The Fund to be sure that the beneficiary is an individual whom the Fund will be able to serve.

You (and your spouse, if you are married) may serve as Trustee(s) while you are living. There will need to be a trustee named to assume this responsibility after your death (or inability to serve). For more information on living trusts, special needs trusts and the services of The Good Shepherd Fund, contact the Reverend Dr. Ron Beckman CFRE, +1 303 474 4609.

The information on this web site is not intended for individual legal, tax or financial investment advice. Please consult your legal, tax and financial advisors.