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FUNDING:
THE LINCHPIN TO YOUR ESTATE PLAN
Estate planning attorneys love to talk about wills and trusts. It makes sense - these documents are
your specific instructions as to where you want your things to go after you pass away. They are the
foundation of your estate plan. However, there’s something that almost never gets discussed -
funding. In this short article, you’ll learn what it is, why it’s so important, and what you need to do.
Simply put - funding is the retitling of your assets. Sounds clear enough, but what does that
actually mean? It means going through the process of changing the ownership or beneficiaries on
ALL of your assets. To whom or what you will change the ownership or beneficiaries depends on a
number of factors. Do you have a trust? Are you married? Do you have children? If so, are they
minors? Are you leaving funds to charities or religious organizations? Are you trying to protect your
assets or just make things easier for your children after you pass? The answers to these questions -
and many others - can materially affect how you need to be “funding” your estate plan.
After learning this, many people ask: “Why would I want to change these things? Why even bother
doing the funding? What does it actually do for me?” The best answer is the following: Funding
avoids probate, provides asset protection and ensures that your wishes and goals are
carried out. I’m sure you would agree that this makes it a very crucial step in your estate planning
process.
So then why don’t more attorneys offer it or even mention it? Frankly, funding is as tedious as it is
important. It involves contacting every financial institution where you have an account, a contract,
or a policy. It often involves filling out a large amount of paperwork. Most lawyers don’t want to
deal with it and they’re worried that if you know how much effort it is, you won’t want to do
anything at all.
Fortunately for you, Family First Firm offers funding as an included service. When you have us by your
side, we will handle this most important chore and do it for you. To do this most expediently, we rely
upon our wealth management arm - Growing Legacies - to process these important changes.
When choosing a law firm to work with to protect yourself, your family, and your legacy - make sure
that you choose someone who does the funding as well. It’s too important to be left to chance.