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The Four Questions Of Estate Planning

Holiday gatherings are great forums to discuss family estate matters.

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(Image via Getty)

Holiday gatherings are great forums to discuss family matters and to raise questions as to your loved ones’ estate planning. Easter and Passover celebrations, with some direction and with the assistance of a delicious repast, can serve as tremendous fact-finding missions, the point of which is not curiosity, but concern and preparedness for the future.

A significant ritual observed on the Passover holiday is the asking of questions by the children at the Passover Seder or holiday meal. For those who observe, it is customary for the youngest child to begin the telling of the Passover story by asking four seminal questions. These inquiries serve as a basis for the explaining why the Passover night is different from all other nights.

As a trusts and estates practitioner and also as a daughter, I propose that everyone, regardless of their observance, should have four questions to ask of their nearest relatives. The questions serve as an impetus for understanding what your family members have in place and what is further needed to better prepare and organize. Everyone should see themselves as a little child, asking Four Questions such as the following:

  1. Do you have any estate planning documents in place? Ask your parents, grandparents, and siblings whether or not they have basic estate planning documents in place. This includes last wills and testaments, powers of attorney, health care proxies, and living wills. In certain cases, individuals may opt to execute revocable trusts. The purpose of the inquiry is to confirm that a plan is in place for the disposition of assets upon one’s passing and for younger individuals, that their children are provided for, physically and financially, by the appointment of guardians. Additionally advanced directives give authority to an agent during one’s lifetime should one experience some kind of permanent or temporary incapacity.
  2. Where are your estate planning documents located? In the event documents have been prepared, ask where they are located and whether they are accessible to the named fiduciaries should they need to be used. An estate plan is of no use if it cannot be found in moments of crisis. Be wary of holding estate planning documents in bank safe deposit boxes which may become inaccessible upon one’s passing, without a court order. Inquire whether important documents are saved electronically, for easier sharing amongst parties. Confirm the existence and whereabouts of all original copies, whether held by an attorney, in a safe, or by some other arrangement.
  3. What is your financial landscape? Inquire as to the general nature of one’s assets. Does one own real estate, a business interest, or financial accounts? Has one made loans to another that have not been fully repaid and if so, are those loans documented? Is there any significant jewelry or art work and if so, where is it located? Upon one’s passing, an executor is charged with locating and marshalling a decedent’s assets. It is helpful to know what the decedent owned in order to efficiently and effectively administer the estate.
  4. What are your wishes for the disposition of your remains? Have you considered whether you wish to be buried or cremated? If buried, do you own a plot? If cremated, who should take possession of the cremains? Will you want a religious ceremony, and if so, to what extent? Lastly, one should ask whether a prefunded arrangement has been made with respect to the disposition of remains. Funerals can be expensive and there should exist a plan as to how to pay for the arrangements.

Passover is often referred to as the Holiday of Freedom, celebrating the Jewish exodus of Egypt after 210 years of slavery. Is there a better way to celebrate life than by confirming that our loved ones have taken the proper steps to ensure that these important life decisions have been made? We are all someone’s child, biologically or figuratively. This holiday season, ask the often difficult questions that will ultimately advance peace, comfort, and efficiency within the family structure.

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Cori A. Robinson is a solo practitioner having founded Cori A. Robinson PLLC, a New York and New Jersey law firm, in 2017. For more than a decade Cori has focused her law practice on trusts and estates and elder law including estate and Medicaid planning, probate and administration, estate litigation, and guardianships. She can be reached at cori@robinsonestatelaw.com. 

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