Do You Need to Share Your Estate Plan with Heirs? by Tony Manns

The toughest part of an estate plan may be just getting started. Taking the time to think through what you want and what is best for your loved ones and heirs can be a difficult, but rewarding, task. Once you have an estate plan, it may be very important to make sure heirs are aware of your wishes to avoid potential problems. For example, utilizing a transfer on death (“TOD”) deed for your real estate to avoid probate might be important to you. However, if the person(s) you transfer the real estate to have no idea that you have recorded a TOD deed, they might proceed with opening an estate and transferring or selling the real estate without realizing it is not an estate asset. They may not find out until the real estate is sold down the road and a title search discovers the TOD deed in the chain of title. This can create unexpected and unintended headaches for heirs.

You should consult your elder law attorney to determine whether certain aspects of your estate plan should be shared with heirs.