Sample family · fictionalThe plan The prep kit The tree The hard day Pop's page Who has the data The firm's view

Frank Hartwell's planning prep kit.

Everything an advisor and an estate attorney ask for at the first meeting, filled in from the family's record: who is in the family, what Frank Hartwell owns and how each thing passes, the papers, the decisions still to make and the questions worth asking. fAImily prepares; the attorney drafts.

Decisions still open: 2 of 10
To fix while you can sign: 8
Questions to bring: 14
Goes through probate: $7,262,000

Your family

The first thing the attorney asks: who is in the family, and who depends on whom.

Married: Elena Hartwell · since Jun 21, 2008
Married before: Diane Hartwell · married 1968, divorced 1999
Children: Karen Doyle · born 1970, with Diane Hartwell; Daniel Hartwell · born 1974, with Diane Hartwell; Sam Hartwell · born 2013, with Elena Hartwell, a minor
Stepchildren: Mateo Ruiz · Elena Hartwell's child, born 1997
Grandchildren: Emma Doyle · born 1993; Grace Doyle · born 1995; Owen Doyle · born 1998; Maya Whitlock-Hartwell · born 2008

What you own, and how each thing passes

Read from your asset list. How something passes is decided by its paperwork, not by the will alone.

Hartwell Millwork
Business · Los Angeles, CA · details kept by the attorney
Through the will · probate
to whoever the will says, through probate
$4,200,000
Whole life policy
Insurance · Pacific Life · details kept by the advisor
By beneficiary · no court
to Elena Hartwell
$3,000,000
Primary residence
Real estate · Los Angeles, CA · details kept by the family
Through the will · probate
to whoever the will says, through probate
$2,850,000
Rollover IRA
Retirement · Charles Schwab · details kept by the advisor
By beneficiary · no court
to Diane Hartwell
$1,640,000
Joint brokerage
Brokerage · Fidelity · details kept by the advisor
Held jointly · no court
to the surviving owner
$910,000
Operating account
Bank account · Wells Fargo · details kept by the institution
Through the will · probate
to whoever the will says, through probate
$212,000
529 college savings - Sam
Brokerage · ScholarShare 529 · details kept by the advisor
By beneficiary · no court
to Sam Hartwell
$96,000

By beneficiary $4,736,000 · held jointly $910,000 · through the will $7,262,000

In your connected apps, but not in your list

1 of the retirement accounts in connected apps isn't in the asset register. $ manAIger shows 2; the register lists 1. Whatever isn't listed has no beneficiary recorded here.
1 of the business interests in connected apps isn't in the asset register. portfolAIo shows 2; the register lists 1. Whatever isn't listed has no beneficiary recorded here.

What you owe, from your connected apps: Mortgage $420,000. Debts are paid before anything is handed out.

Your papers

Bring the originals, or say where they are. Anything old or unsigned is marked.

Last will and testament · Will
signed Mar 14, 2008, not reviewed since · names Daniel Hartwell as executor · kept: Attorney's office, Century City
Durable power of attorney · Power of attorney
signed Mar 14, 2008, not reviewed since · names Daniel Hartwell as agent · kept: Home office safe
Healthcare directive · Health care directive
signed Mar 14, 2008, not reviewed since · names Daniel Hartwell as health care agent · kept: Home office safe
Living will · Living will
signed May 2, 2019 · kept: Home office safe, with the directive· attached, encrypted
Revocable living trust · Living trust
drafted, never signed
Beneficiary designation - rollover IRA · Beneficiary form
signed Feb 10, 1998, not reviewed since · kept: Charles Schwab

Decisions to make

The questions the attorney will ask you to answer, with what the record says now under each one. Answer in your own words; the attorney turns your answers into papers.

Who should carry out your will, and who is the backup?
Now: The 2008 will names Daniel Hartwell. No backup is recorded.
The executor gathers everything, pays what is owed and hands out the rest. Pick someone organized and trusted.
Answer: Daniel. Karen as the backup.
Who would raise Sam if both parents died?
Now: No guardian is recorded.
If nobody is named, a court decides. Name one person and a backup.
Answer: Elena raises Sam. If she can't, Daniel and Graham.
Who signs for you on money if you can't?
Now: The 2008 power of attorney names Daniel Hartwell. It was signed before you married Elena Hartwell.
Your agent can pay the bills, deal with the advisor and keep things running while you can't.
Answer: Elena first, then Daniel. This needs updating.
Who speaks to the doctors for you if you can't?
Now: The 2008 health care directive names Daniel Hartwell. It was signed before you married Elena Hartwell.
Your health care agent makes the medical decisions you can't make yourself.
Answer: Elena. Daniel if she can't.
5
Who takes over Hartwell Millwork, and who runs it if you can't?
Now: No successor and no agreement are recorded.
A business without a plan loses value fast. An agreement names who runs it and who owns it.
“I built it so nobody in this family would ever have to ask anybody for anything. I have not decided who gets it, and I know that is a problem.”
Who should get the primary residence?
Now: Nobody is named on it, so it goes where the will says, through probate.
Naming a beneficiary, or putting it in a trust, keeps it out of court.
“Elena stays in it as long as she wants. After that the kids work it out.”
Answer: Elena stays as long as she wants. Then sell it and split it four ways, Mateo included.
Do you still want Diane Hartwell to get the rollover IRA?
Now: The form names Diane Hartwell; you divorced in 1999.
A beneficiary form beats the will. If it isn't what you want, it takes one signature.
Answer: No. Elena first, then the four kids equally.
8
Who should get the operating account?
Now: Nobody is named on it, so it goes where the will says, through probate.
Naming a beneficiary, or putting it in a trust, keeps it out of court.
Do you want Mateo Ruiz to inherit?
Now: Stepchildren inherit only if you name them.
A named bequest, a beneficiary form or an adoption is what makes it happen.
“He is my son. The paperwork does not say so, and it should.”
Answer: Yes. The same as my other children.
Sign the trust, change it, or let it go?
Now: The revocable living trust was drafted and never signed.
A signed, funded trust keeps what is in it out of court, and lets someone step in if you can't act.
Answer: Sign it. Ask what should go in it.

Already settled in the record: Your living will, signed May 2, 2019, says it.

Fix these while you can still sign

Each one is a meeting or a signature today. Afterward it lands on the family.

Diane Hartwell is still named on the rollover IRA
$1,640,000. Divorced in 1999; the form is from 1998. A beneficiary form overrides the will.
The will is from 2008, before Frank Hartwell married Elena Hartwell and before Sam was born
Signed Mar 14, 2008; married Elena Hartwell Jun 21, 2008; Sam born 2013.
Mateo Ruiz has no automatic right to inherit
A stepchild inherits only through a named bequest, a beneficiary form or an adoption.
The revocable living trust was drafted and never signed
Until it is signed it does nothing, and everything meant to go through it goes through probate instead.
Nobody is named to take over Hartwell Millwork
$4,200,000. No successor and no recorded agreement.
4 papers haven't been looked at in 18 years or more
Last will and testament, Durable power of attorney, Healthcare directive and Beneficiary designation - rollover IRA.
The power of attorney and health care directive name Daniel Hartwell, from before Frank Hartwell married Elena Hartwell
If that is still what Frank Hartwell wants, there is nothing to fix. If not, it takes a signature.
Nobody is named to run Hartwell Millwork if Frank Hartwell can't
$4,200,000. No one is named and no agreement is recorded.

Questions to bring

Written from your record, so the meeting starts where your family actually is.

For your attorney

Does our state cancel Diane Hartwell's designation on the rollover IRA after the divorce, or does the form still control?
What does the 2008 will do now that Elena Hartwell and Sam are in the family?
How do we name a guardian for Sam, and a backup?
How do we make sure Mateo inherits?
Should we sign the trust and put the primary residence in it?
Do we need a buy-sell or succession agreement for Hartwell Millwork?
Should my power of attorney and health care directive still name Daniel Hartwell?
Which of my papers need redoing, and which only need a review?

For your advisor

Can we change the beneficiary on the rollover IRA at Charles Schwab now?
What is Hartwell Millwork worth today, and what would the family need if it had to be sold?
Can we add a beneficiary or transfer-on-death to the operating account?
What happens to the joint brokerage after both of us are gone?
Our connected apps show accounts our list doesn't. Who is named on them, and should any be brought together?
Is the life insurance still the right size for what the family would need?

fAImily prepares; your attorney drafts. Nothing in this kit is a legal document or legal advice. It is your record, organized for the people who will turn it into one.

The plan for the worst month →← Back to fAImily for families