Even the Best Laid Plans Are Only Good When Followed

Many of you already have estate plans.  In fact, I would imagine that MH has helped create or update most of our readers’ plans.  It is GREAT that you have a plan in place to help you and your family in some of the worst times – major illness or disability and death.  (If you do not have an estate plan, your family is unprotected and we can meet with you at no cost to go over how an MH Estate Plan can help you!)

But no matter how terrific your estate plan is, it may not be worth the paper it is printed on if it is not followed.

I picture this as being similar to your car’s GPS.  The whole purpose is to plug in a destination and hit the road without the concern of having to locate your destination – the GPS does the work.  However, if you turn left when the little voice says to turn right, it’s not worth having the device.

The process of “following the directions” in your trust is called “administration.”  Proper administration is vital to ensure that the terms of the trust are adhered to, and any and all protections the trust affords are implemented properly.

Having your trust administered correctly is as important as creating the trust in the first place.  Our firm provides a free consultation to our clients when the trustor passes away, so we can review the terms of the trust and go over what is involved in the administration process.

Take the time to make sure your successor trustee knows how to get in touch with us so that the plan you have put in place is executed properly.

Contributed by MH Arrowhead and Phoenix Estate Planning Attorney James P. Plitz

About Morris Hall:
At Morris Hall, we have focused our legal practice on estate planning for over 40 years.  Along with estate planning, our attorneys help clients and their families with matters of probate, trust administration, wills, power of attorneys, business planning, succession planning, legacy planning, charitable gifting and other important legal aspects.  We also have divisions in financial, real estate and accounting to help you incorporate all of your planning together, ensuring that everything works perfectly for your needs and situation. Our Arizona offices are located in Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Cave Creek, Tucson, Prescott, Flagstaff and Arrowhead.  Our New Mexico offices are located in Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Santa Fe.  Contact us today at 888.222.1328 to schedule an appointment!

This blog should be used for informational purposes only.  It does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader and should not be construed as legal advice.  If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney in your community who can assess the specifics of your situation.