I Forgot To Put This Asset Into This Trust

Mar 04, 2013

OUTCOME: We were forced to go into Court to fight for this asset, so we filed a Heggstad Petition. This is an on-going battle as we speak.

My most interesting case last month got me wanting to share something with you regarding estate planning. Imagine the responsible, family caring individual (i.e., you!) who took the time and cost of do ... ing a proper estate plan for his loved ones. As time goes on, that experience with the estate planning attorney gets filed away with other “one time” experiences of a lifetime, and never to be revisited. Well, believe it or not, that is a mistake! First and foremost, an estate plan should not be seen as a “one time” event. Quite to the contrary, you should look at it as a well-oiled machine that needs tuning every so often. Unfortunately, many trust mill firms do not treat their clients in this manner, and therefore do not schedule regular visits. Such short sighted view on client relationships not only hurts the firm, but the clients they are representing as well. This is what happened to a family we “inherited” from another firm. This family’s father had passed, and an investment building was left out of the Trust. In legal terms, it was not “funded” into the Trust, thereby causing the building to end up exactly where the father did not wish… in Probate Court! Well, we were forced to go into Court to fight for this asset, and prevent the Probate Court from administering the building according to its rule book. Instead, we filed what is called a Heggstad Petition, where we make a legal representation that it was the father’s intent to put “inside” the Trust this building which had been left out. This is an on-going battle as we speak, but I am confident the Court will grant our request. But let not the lesson be lost on you, don’t forget to “fine tune” your estate every 3 years at the very least. Your estate attorney should be a professional you feel comfortable enough to call for whatever legal question you may run across, without the fear of being billed for every phone call.