More family members from across generations are living together than ever before. There has never been a better—or more important— time to involve everyone in safeguarding hard earned assets.
Talk About Your Savings: Take The First Step
As reported by the New York Times (NYT), two-thirds of Americans said the pandemic brought them closer to family. However, nearly one-third of those over 65 have not begun discussing their end of life plans with anyone—including family. Meanwhile, the impact of the disruptions caused by the pandemic on retirement plans are profound and unlikely be fully understood for many years. Read the full article here: With Adult Children Home, Now’s the Time: Talk About Your Money.
The reasons we dread end of life conversations are obvious. The younger don’t want to think about losing their beloved elders and the elders, well—there are so many other things to think about! Nonetheless, everyone feels better when a plan starts to take shape.
Yours does not have to begin elaborately. Some families find it helpful to simply convene and communicate the basics about assets. Keep it plain: this is what we have…. Include bank account information, real estate, social security benefits and pensions, retirement plans and insurance policies. Make sure family members understand where they can find all the related pertinent information.
Now that you have begun, don’t stop!
Consider Trusts, Trustees and Trustee Bonds
Once you have shared the basics, you can ratchet up your plan to protect assets and ensure your wishes about their distribution are clear. One way to do that is by establishing a trust, appointing a trustee, and securing a trustee bond from a reliable company.
A trust can help you safeguard your assets—now and into the future too. It can help avoid some taxes and accelerate the distribution of your assets upon death. A trust can also detail inheritances for your beneficiaries. There are different kinds of trusts and establishing them takes time and professional help. Trusts can have some important special uses. For example, as Investopedia advises:
A trust is one way to provide for a beneficiary who is underage or has a mental disability that may impair his ability to manage finances. Once the beneficiary is deemed capable of managing his assets, he will receive possession of the trust.
If you decide to set up a trust, you will also appoint a trustee. This could be a family member, friend or professional who commits to taking on the fiduciary responsibility of administering your trust in accordance with your wishes. It’s best—and in many states required—for a trustee to get a trustee bond.
The Purpose of Trustee Bonds
A trustee bond is a type of surety bond. It protects your beneficiaries, ensuring that the trustee manages and administers your trust in accordance with your expressed intentions—and the law. In the event the trustee commits acts of malfeasance in the execution of their duties, a claim can be made by the trust beneficiaries against the trustee bond, effectively providing recovery to the beneficiaries for that malfeasance.
Colonial Surety Company makes it easy to obtain a trustee bond with our direct to consumer, online approach. We are licensed in all 50 states and US Territories. At Colonial, the steps to obtaining a trustee bond are — get a quote online, fill out your information, and enter your payment method. Print or e-file your own bond. It’s that simple! Get your trustee bond here!