The Importance of Titling Assets and Estate Planning

Even the best drafted estate plans are subject to failure if assets are not titled properly. When an attorney drafts an estate plan they must take into account all your assets and how they are titled. Where things go awry is when assets are obtained and titled without your estate planning attorney involved. I see so many issues occur with joint assets after the death of a joint account holder. For example when parents become older they tend to add children to their bank accounts so they can help their parent with banking. The problem that arises is that upon death of the parent the assets transfers to the joint owner without going through the will or trust, which might not have been the intention of the deceased parent. Most of these problems resolve themselves because the children work it out between themselves. However, there are instances when family members get into disagreements and bad feelings and/or litigation is a result. Therefore, it is very important to have your estate planning attorney review your assets and determine whether they are titled properly so your estate plan works as it was intended when it was drafted by your attorney.