Planned Giving Jeff McManus, Planned and Leadership Gifts Officer

WHAT DO WE Owe Our Children?

JEFF McMANUS Planned and Leadership Gifts Officer

As a parent and grandparent, and an estate planning attorney for over 40 years, I have had the opportunity to see the way many people approach planning for end of life issues. I have seen people who have put off the preparation of essential estate planning documents to the detriment of their surviving spouse or children. I have seen people content to make a simple will believing that such a document would provide an adequate and cost effective means to pass property on to their heirs. And not nearly often enough, I have seen people who were genuinely concerned enough about their families to timely complete and document a plan that would allow their survivors to avoid being forced to work through a maze of complex and costly tasks to administer their estate. I have found that if people will do just three things well, they will be more comfortable during their lifetimes and more importantly, their survivors will be able to deal with the pain of a loss without also having also to deal with costly unknowns to clear up their loved one’s unplanned estate.

PROTECTING YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR FAVORITE CHARITIES 1 IS AS EASY AS 1,2,3! 2 GET ORGANIZED! 3 ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT YOUR ESTATE PLAN CONSIDER THE LEGACY YOU WANT TO LEAVE

1 GET ORGANIZED! We all have an estate — some kind of assets or property that will be left to others when we pass away. Most of us have more than we realize. Think about your real estate, investment accounts, retirement plans, checking and savings accounts, life insurance, health savings accounts, business interests, cars, boats, personal property, safety deposit boxes, and more. To the extent that we have not left a well-organized roadmap for those we leave behind to follow, we are not only doing them a disservice but we are risking the need to spend thousands of dollars in that forced discovery process. Think about the need after death for survivors to provide a birth certificate, military records, social security number and Medicare information. Think about what secure information is kept primarily on line with private (and perhaps unknown to the survivor) passwords. Think about all the professionals you deal with on an ongoing basis—tax, financial planning, legal, banking and investments. If you do not have all this information in one place and keep it updated, you will be leaving your survivors with an unwelcome and overwhelming task. This can be avoided easily by creating a record book containing all of the information set forth above. These type of books with blanks to fill in are usually available in office supply stores, bookstores or on line. If you send me an email or call me, I will even send you one. Please do yourself and especially your family an invaluable service by finding and filling out a record book today. Then, keep it in a safe place and tell your family where they can find it. This can of course be done on line as well. If done on line, it is still a good idea to make a printed copy, and make sure a trusted family member knows your password and where to find your on line records.

2 ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT YOUR ESTATE PLAN Once you have created your record book, you have a document listing all the assets you need to plan for. This will help you and your attorney and will save you time and money. Fortunately, there are many ways to arrange for the transfer of assets to loved ones upon your death that cost little or no money. These methods include transfer or payable on death designations for bank accounts and investments, and beneficiary designations on life insurance policies and retirement accounts. There are even ways to provide for the transfer real estate to others upon death through joint ownership or a Lady Bird deed. However, none of these simple and inexpensive means of providing for the transfer of all or part of your estate should be done without consulting a qualified estate planning attorney. At a minimum, your attorney may recommend the following documents should be considered and usually made part of every estate plan: • Advance Directive – Living Will Declaration Form • Durable Financial Power of Attorney • Last Will and Testament • Revocable Living Trust Agreement – (Usually recommended) • Certificate of Trust Existence – (For use with a Living Trust) There are other documents that your attorney will discuss with you that may be recommended for your specific personal or financial situation. That is why the process is called Estate Planning. All the information that is personal to you must be considered to implement a plan that will result in the best possible outcome for you and your family. And remember, if a Revocable Living Trust is part of your plan, complete that process by the prompt transfer of appropriate assets into the trust. 3 CONSIDER THE LEGACY YOU WANT TO LEAVE So what about the question raised in the title of this article? What do we owe our children? I have always believed in the premise that as parents, we do not “owe our children” everything we worked for. In June we celebrated my wife’s parent’s 70th wedding anniversary. It gave us an opportunity to reflect and share with them how their lives and examples had impacted their six children. Each of them sent a short list of the biggest impressions that their parents’ lives had made on them. The themes were pretty consistent including: • An exceptional example of love, support and commitment to their marriage vows • Caring generosity in support of critical causes they believed in, especially Catholic education • High standards in morals, ethics and family values to emulate • Uncompromising love of family and of country This was their lifetime legacy. Through their estate plan, they will complete that legacy by continuing to provide funding for critical causes they believed in and supported during their lifetimes. Like estate gifts that can be made to family members at little or no cost, similar low or no cost methods can be used to make charitable estate gifts, including payable or transfer on death provisions for bank or investment accounts, beneficiary designations for insurance policies or retirement accounts and even gifts of real estate. If lifetime tax or income benefits are desired, an attorney can help create more detailed plans which may include charitable trusts or a charitable gift annuity.

With many of us remaining at home as a precautionary measure, now is a perfect time to organize. Get your planning record today and start filling it out. Remember to get in touch with me if your need one. Think about what your ideal estate plan would look like, including any charities you may wish to continue to help such as Ave Maria School of Law. Then make an appointment with an estate planning attorney to prepare and implement your estate plan. Finally, sleep better!

For more information about making an estate gift to Ave Maria School of Law, contact Jeff McManus, JD at: jmcmanus@avemarialaw.edu or 239-250-3536 or visit our website at: www.avemarialaw.edu/giving/planned-giving-questions