Linda and Mark began working with Arbor Trust in their forties as they began to think about retirement. We used our investment management and financial planning services to help them achieve their financial goals. During a regular review meeting, their advisor asked about their estate plan. They initially responded that they were all set, sharing that their attorney drafted documents over 10 years ago. As part of our service offerings, we suggested it was time to review their documents to ensure they are still consistent with their wishes and that their asset titling and beneficiary designations matched their documents.

While Linda and Mark had been disciplined in saving for retirement, they had never thought about the legacy they wanted to leave for their two children. They never considered the administration that would be required after their deaths to transfer that legacy to their children or considered their children’s possible roles in the administration. As their children grew into adults, and after talking with their advisor and attorney, Linda and Mark realized they needed to be more proactive to work towards their goal of protecting their legacy by ensuring their estate planning documents, asset titling, and beneficiary designations were aligned with their stated intentions.

Arbor Trust developed a thorough net worth statement containing all of Linda and Mark’s assets. This included both the assets under Arbor Trust’s management and those held elsewhere. After learning about Arbor Trust’s estate plan review and family legacy planning meetings, Linda and Mark became committed to making sure their documents were up to date, their asset titling and beneficiary designations were in line with their documents, and that their children were involved in conversations about the family legacy and the roles they would play as their fiduciaries.

While Linda and Mark had their estate plan documents in place, they had done nothing to retitle their assets or update their beneficiary designations to coordinate with those documents. Their attorney provided detailed instructions on how to do this when they signed the documents, but Linda and Mark never acted on them. While their documents named their children as powers of attorney, successor trustee and personal representative, Mark and Linda had never talked to their children about their estate plan.

Linda and Mark were equally involved in their family finances; both actively participating in review meetings with their advisor. However, Linda developed an aggressive form of cancer, the treatment for which required Mark to step in to act as her power of attorney, manage her care, and ultimately deal with Linda’s untimely death.

Arbor Trust prioritizes working with our clients’ other trusted advisors, including estate planning attorneys and tax professionals. Our expertise in estate planning and trust administration does not replace the relationship our clients have with these advisors. Rather, our goal is to support and deepen that relationship through regular estate plan reviews. We believe that estate planning should be an ongoing priority to monitor changes in the law, family dynamics, and client intentions. By prompting conversations about estate planning and family legacy, we provide clients with incentive to update estate plan documents by reengaging with their attorneys. We also help implement their attorney’s instructions related to asset tilting and beneficiary designations. Finally, when appropriate, we host family conversations to discuss family legacy, trust administration, and how we can support family fiduciaries in carrying out their responsibilities.

With Linda and Mark’s permission, we obtained copies of their estate plan from their attorney, along with the recommendations for titling assets and updating beneficiaries. In three pages, we summarized their estate plan documents. This summary was prepared to facilitate review of whether the documents continued to reflect their stated objectives. As time passed, and with regular reviews of their estate plan along with updates to their financial plan, Linda and Mark realized that with the asset size they would leave to their children, they could also leave some of their assets to their grandchildren. We reconnected Linda and Mark with their attorney to include provisions in their estate plan for the grandchildren. We also introduced the Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors Estate Planning Organizer to Mark and Linda, which they chose to complete to ensure each of them and their children had a resource to use in the event of their incapacity and death. We encouraged Linda and Mark to share the details of their plan with their children and scheduled a family meeting to review the estate plan documents, discuss the process of trust administration, and communicate the children’s responsibilities as both fiduciaries and beneficiaries of their parents’ estate plan. Finally, we shared how we could help support their children in these roles.

One of Arbor Trust’s priorities is to assist clients in reviewing estate planning documentation and related implementation steps by reviewing their estate plan with care and clarity to ensure the documents meet their goals. Following the direction of your attorney, we work with you to ensure your assets are properly titled and your beneficiary designations align with your wishes. Through a thoughtful, repeatable, and personalized approach, we apply a structured planning process designed to support clients’ long-term estate planning objectives. Having completed the estate planning review and implementation steps before Linda’s incapacity, the relevant authority, documentation, and information were in place for Mark to act as her power of attorney, consistent with the governing documents and attorney guidance. When she died only a few years after her diagnosis, the administration of her trust proceeded in accordance with the governing documents and applicable legal requirements. Since Linda’s death, the estate plan review and family legacy process continues for Mark by regularly revisiting his asset titling and beneficiary designations to ensure that his goal of protecting the family legacy is achieved.