Ask Liz Weston

Get smart with your money

Estate planning

Q&A: Storing will and trust documents

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Dear Liz: You recently advised a person to leave their original will or trust with their attorney. As a practicing attorney, I cannot tell you how many times original wills and trusts have been lost as the attorney that prepared the documents retired or died before the client. There are requirements to inform clients of a retirement, but very few lawyers follow those rules, unfortunately. The best thing is to buy a home safe or put the documents in double zip-close freezer bags in your freezer (which should be fireproof and is a great preserver of the documents). Or, hire a younger lawyer who will still be around when you want to amend your will or trust or you pass away.

Answer: Thanks for sharing your perspective, but freezers are not fireproof. A fireproof home safe would be a better option for those who want to keep their wills at home.

There is, unfortunately, no one perfect option for storing wills. You’re quite right that people often don’t stay in touch with the attorneys who create their documents, even though estate plans should be reviewed and updated regularly. The risk of losing a will may not be as high if the attorney is part of a large firm, but even those can go out of business.

Some states allow you to file your will in advance with the probate court or a registrar of wills, so that’s another avenue to consider.

Q&A: What you need to know about power of attorney documents

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Dear Liz: My husband has Parkinson’s disease and is showing early signs of dementia. I’ve been advised to get a financial power of attorney. If all of our accounts are joint, is this necessary? What will that do for me?

Answer: A power of attorney gives you the authority to make decisions on your husband’s behalf. You wouldn’t need one to pay the bills from your joint accounts, but this document could be invaluable if you wanted to take action on jointly held property, such as selling a car or house or refinancing a mortgage. Otherwise, you might have to go to court to get a guardianship, which can be expensive.

Please don’t wait. For the document to be valid, your husband needs to be able to understand what a power of attorney is and what it does. You’ll also need a power of attorney for healthcare, which is sometimes called a healthcare proxy or advanced directive, to make decisions regarding his medical care.

There are do-it-yourself options, but given your husband’s condition you may want to hire an experienced estate planning attorney who can offer personal guidance and help make sure the documents won’t be challenged.

Q&A: Understanding the gift tax

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Dear Liz: I am 83 and have always been employed and a regular saver. I find myself in the unusual position of having amassed a considerable estate and, barring a financial or medical catastrophe, probably having more assets than I will use in my lifetime. Of course these assets will pass to my wife or other heirs on my death, but I would like to help them now. I am considering passing on monies to my sons and grandchildren. I find it hard to believe, but is it correct that I can give up to a total of $15,000 per year ($30,000 for a husband and wife) to my children and grandchildren in a given calendar year without federal or state tax implications for either party? Also, does the recipient need to be a close relative for this transaction to take place without creating a tax liability for either entity?

Answer: Right now you can give away millions of dollars without owing gift taxes. Gifts are tax-free to the recipient, and there’s no requirement that they be a relative.

The annual gift exemption limit of $15,000 is how much you can give away per recipient without having to file a gift tax return. You and your wife together could give $30,000 to as many people as you wanted without having to file such a return. If you have two married sons who have three children each, you and your wife could give each family of five $150,000 or a total of $300,000 without having to file a gift tax return.

Gift taxes aren’t due until the amount you give away over the annual limit exceeds the lifetime gift and estate exemption limit, which currently is $11.7 million per person.

Given your age and affluence, you should be working with an experienced estate planning attorney to make sure your assets go where you want after your death. The attorney can discuss smart gifting strategies for your individual circumstances.

Q&A: Where should you keep your estate planning documents?

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Dear Liz: What do you do with your will or living trust once it’s created? Do you put the document in your home safe or a safe deposit box at the bank? Leave it with a friend or relative? What’s to prevent someone who has access to your property from destroying that document? I heard of such a case where the will was never found and the wrong relative took everything.

I imagine you could leave it with your attorney with instructions to ensure it is abided by upon your death. But who will contact the attorney after your death to ensure your wishes are abided by? I know the coroner won’t do it, nor a funeral home.

Answer: Definitely don’t put the original document in a safe deposit box. Once notified of your death, your bank will typically seal the box until your executor can prove they have the legal right to retrieve it — and that will be complicated if the document naming them as executor is in the box.

Keeping the original in your own safe is better than leaving it at the bank, but still not ideal if you fear someone with bad intent could access it. For most people, the best option is to leave the original with their attorney. You can provide copies to your executor and other trusted people and give them your attorney’s contact information.

Q&A: Giving executors account access

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Dear Liz: We are trying to leave our affairs in order for our executors. (Pity them. We have accounts and substantial assets in England and Canada as well as the U.S.!) Thinking of some immediate expenses they will have, I’ve documented details of how to access our accounts online (passwords coded in a way that only a family member will understand). But am I inviting them to do something illegal?

Answer: If a site has a password, then it probably also has a “terms of service” agreement that prohibits you from sharing that password with someone else. You may be able to add someone else’s name to a financial account, but that’s often not desirable, either because you don’t want to give them access in advance of your death or incapacity, or because doing so could have gift tax implications.

The most practical solution is to create a list of the accounts with your login credentials and make sure your executor knows where to find it. (You probably should have only one executor, by the way, with a couple of backups. This is a big job that grows infinitely more complicated when two or more people have to agree on decisions and sign every document.) You’ll also need to keep the list updated, which can be a big task. A password manager could be a good solution, since your executor would only need to know the master password to access your accounts.

Also make sure your executor has the passwords to your email addresses as well as your computers, tablets and cellphones. Otherwise, the executor might not be able to receive identity-verifying codes and links that allow access to your accounts.

Q&A: Your accounts are likely to outlive you. How to safely store that information

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Dear Liz: I’m attempting to become as paperless as possible while also organizing all of our financial information into one place so if one of us dies, the other (or our child) will be able to access everything in one concise source. My current system is downloading all bank and investment accounts and medical payments onto memory sticks. One is kept in the safe deposit box, the other hidden. Is there a better, safer system out there that would not involve a third party?

Answer: If you’re unwilling to use a secure online storage site, then your system is a reasonable if somewhat laborious option. You should be sure, however, that your trusted person will have access to your computer for the most up-to-date information. The person also probably will need access to your phone, since identity authentication codes are often sent by text.

You’ll need to record passwords for your devices and consider creating a list of logins and passwords for all the sites you regularly use. If you use a password manager, you often can set up emergency access for trusted people.

Going paperless is usually the most convenient, safe and ecologically friendly option, but your trusted person won’t be able to rummage through your desk to find clues about where your assets are, what bills need to be paid and what services should be shut down. Otherwise, as one friend put it, your frequent flier miles could disappear while your Netflix subscription continues indefinitely.

If you want a system that doesn’t involve frequent trips to your safe deposit box, consider sites such as Everplans that allow you to store important information and to name people who can be given access if you’re incapacitated or dead. Your accountant or attorney may be able to recommend other sites that perform similar functions.