Estate Planning Persons of Interest

There are three categories of persons who will be involved with your Kentucky estate plans.

These are –

• Fiduciaries
• Beneficiaries
• Advisors

The information of all relevant individuals should be collected in one location. This helps to avoid ambiguities in drafting and makes the tasks of others who assist in your estate planning easier to perform.

Fiduciaries

A fiduciary is a person on whom the law imposes various duties because of a particular relationship they have with you.

What Duties?

What duties are owed and whether a fiduciary satisfies those duties are complex topics. In a nutshell and without legalese, a fiduciary is expected to act for your good.

But, who says what is good?

Sometimes, it might be you who says so and a duty will be your stated wishes, often with some sort of gloss having been supplied by the law.

Other times, the law will define a duty as either an optional default (when you state nothing) or as a requirement that even you can not alter.

In all cases, the specifics of the duty will be determined by a [subjective] fact finder if a dispute cannot otherwise be resolved.

Fiduciaries include a personal representative who will oversee the probate of your estate, trustees of any trusts, and those you appoint to make healthcare and other decisions on your behalf in the event of your incapacitation.

You should provide clear and comprehensive instructions to fiduciaries. While this is done through estate planning documents, it is essential to also discuss these matters, in advance, with fiduciaries.

The bottom line is that it’s not fair to foist duties upon someone who might not be adequately prepared to perform.

Further, you should assure that fiduciaries will have access to relevant documents. For most people, with most documents, the best practice is to provide a copy in advance.

Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries can be human persons or charities.

What is appropriate to discuss with beneficiaries is a personal decision, but thought should be given on what, if anything, should be shared.

Advisors

An advisor is someone who helps you plan. The checklist’s enumeration of advisors is not exhaustive and not all estate plans will require the advice of all of the advisor roles listed.

Communication amongst advisors is often necessary. But, discuss with your attorney beforehand to help ensure that the attorney-client privilege is preserved.