Law Office Of Angela Harvey
Today’s Date:
ESTATE PLANNING WORKSHEET
WILL
Revocable Living Trust (CHECK ONE)
SECTION A. - GENERAL INFORMATION
1.
Your
Name: ______________________________
(Date of Birth)
D.O.B.: ____________
(Social Security Number)
SSN:____________________
2.
Spouse:______________________________
D.O.B.: ____________
SSN:____________________
3.
Your Address: __________________________________________________________________________
4.
City:
_______________________________________________
5.
County:
__________________________
6.
Telephone Number: (
7.
Date married? (MM/DD/YY) ______________________
8.
Have you or your spouse ever been divorced or widowed?
State:
)__________________
_________
Married,
No
Zip:____________________
Single,
Yes, you
Divorced,
Widowed?
Yes, spouse
SECTION B. – EXECUTOR / TRUSTEE INFORMATION
1.
Executor or Successor Trustee(s) ( in order, or
jointly) (Name and address of the person you want to be
responsible for distributing your property upon your death. List alternates in order.). If married and you want
your spouse to be the primary Executor write “spouse” in section “a”.
a.
Name:________________________________________Phone:_______________________________
Address: _________________________________________________________________________
City, State, Zip: ________________________________________Relation to you: __________
b.
Name: ________________________________________Phone:______________________________
Address: _________________________________________________________________________
City, State, Zip: ________________________________________Relation to you: __________
c.
Name: ________________________________________ Phone:_____________________________
Address: _________________________________________________________________________
City, State, Zip: ________________________________________Relation to you: __________
d.
Name: _______________________________________ Phone: ______________________________
Address: _________________________________________________________________________
City, State, Zip: ________________________________________Relation to you: __________
ESTATE PLANNING WORKSHEET
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SECTION C. -CHILDREN & BENEFICIARIES
1.
3.
Name, date of birth and address of ALL Children of this Marriage:
Name:
D.O.B.:
Address, City, State, Zip
_______________________
_________
_______________________________________________
_______________________
_________
_______________________________________________
_______________________
_________
_______________________________________________
_______________________
_________
_______________________________________________
_______________________
_________
_______________________________________________
_______________________
_________
_______________________________________________
Beneficiaries of Estate: (Persons to whom do you want to leave your estate)
Name:
Percentage.:
of estate
Does this beneficiary have any special needs or circumstances
such as incapacity, disability, drug or alcohol dependence, etc.?
Any special directions regarding their distribution?
________________________ ___________
_______________________________________________
________________________ ___________
_______________________________________________
________________________ ___________
_______________________________________________
________________________ ___________
_______________________________________________
________________________ ___________
_______________________________________________
________________________ ___________
_______________________________________________
________________________ ___________
_______________________________________________
In the event that any of the above listed beneficiaries should predecease you do you want their portion of the estate to be
distributed to:
that beneficiary’s children or
divided among the surviving beneficiaries? (Select one)
4.
Contingent Beneficiaries: In the event, although unlikely, that all of your beneficiaries listed in #3 above should
predecease you leaving no children, to whom do you want your estate distributed:
Heirs at law
Other (such as Charity, person, entity: _________________________________
5.
Omitted Beneficiaries: List any children or heirs to be specifically omitted as beneficiaries of your estate:
Name:
Name:
_____________________________________
______________________________________
ESTATE PLANNING WORKSHEET
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SECTION D. - FIDUCIARIES
1.
Durable Power of Attorney (General): (If different from Successor Trustees)
List here the person you want to make business decisions for you should you become incapacitated and unable
to make financial decisions for yourself.
CLIENT
Agent:
_______________________________________
Alternate: _______________________________________
2.
SPOUSE
Agent:
_______________________________________
Alternate: _______________________________________
Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions (if different from Successor Trustees): List here the
person you want to make healthcare decisions for you should you become incapacitated.
CLIENT
Agent:
_______________________________________
Alternate: _______________________________________
3.
SPOUSE
Agent:
_______________________________________
Alternate: _______________________________________
Guardian Designation for Minor Children if different from Executor previously listed:
Name: ______________________________________ Address: _________________________________
SECTION E. - FINANCIAL INFORMATION
1.
2.
Estimated Value of Your Gross Estate: $_____________________ .
See assets worksheet attached to calculate this value.
Total number of parcels of realty that you or your spouse own ___________________ .
SECTION F. - SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS or CONCERNS
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
ESTATE PLANNING WORKSHEET
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Client Name: _______________________________
Date: _______________
ESTATE PLANNING WORKSHEET
Enter the approximate value of the below listed asset.
HIS (Husband)
HERS (Wife)
JOINT
REAL ESTATE
Present Home
Vacation Home
Other Real Estate
Other Real Estate
Other Real Estate
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
VEHICLES
Cars
Boats
Motor Home
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
INVESTMENTS
Money Market / CD
Stocks / Bonds
IRA / Pension / Keogh
Mutual Funds
Other
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
CASH ACCOUNTS
Average Checking
Savings
Broker Account
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
INSURANCE
Life
Annuities
Burial Plan
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
MISCELLANEOUS
Household Interest
Collectable Loans
Other
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
INCOME:
Social Security
$
Retirement / Pension
Employment:
Other / Per month
$
$
$
Per $
month
$
$
$
Per $
month
$
$
$
NOTES:
ESTATE PLANNING WORKSHEET
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Law Office of Angela Harvey
Law Office of Angela Harvey
4758 Benbrook Blvd.
Fort Worth, Texas 76116
Phone: 817-560-8100 Fax: 817-704-4696
January 1, 2015
re:
Estate Planning Documents
Dear Estate Planning Client,
Pursuant to your request enclosed please find an Estate Planning Worksheet. Please complete
the worksheet and return it to my office via fax or mail. Upon receipt I will call you to discuss
your information and your estate planning wishes and to schedule a date to execute the
documents. As an alternative I can travel to meet with you in your home or office for an
additional fee.
My fee for a Will estate planning package for a single adult is $450. My fee for a Will estate
planning package for a married couple is $800. This includes the following documents for both
spouses: Will, Power of Attorney for Healthcare, Power of Attorney for Financial Decisions,
Declaration of Guardian of Minor Children, Declaration of Guardian for self and Donation
documents if requested. Please let me know if you have a child or beneficiary with special needs
as additional estate planning may be necessary to protect this beneficiary.
Remember, that every will, to have effect, must be probated upon the death of the Testator. The
Probate process in Texas is relatively simple, but it does involve additional time, expense and at
least one court appearance. Many individuals are utilizing Revocable Living Trusts to avoid this
additional administration.
If you are interested in executing a Revocable Living Trust instead of a Will for your estate you
may use this same worksheet. Simply indicate that you want a “trust” or a “will” on the top of
page one. A Living Trust can provide additional benefits such as avoiding probate and ease of
estate settlement for client with more than one parcel of realty. The creation and funding of the
trust is more complex than a will and as such the fee for an Estate Plan with Revocable Living
Trust is $2800.
I look forward to working with you in your estate planning needs. If you have any questions
please feel free to contact me.
With pleasure,
Angela Harvey
State Bar No.: 00784222
ESTATE PLANNING WORKSHEET
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WHAT IS A REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST?
A Revocable Trust (also referred to as a Living Trust or Revocable Living Trust), has
all the benefits of a Will, but contains few of a Will's disadvantages. One needs to
think of a trust as a separate legal entity, a corporation, for example. Like a
corporation, you place assets into the trust, and like the majority shareholder of a
corporation, you, while alive and of sound mind, control the assets in the trust. A trust
can be nothing more than a savings account with some money in it, or it could be
homes, cars, boats, stocks, bonds, and jewelry. You as the original maker of the trust
are referred to as 'Maker,' 'Grantor,' or 'Settlor,' meaning, the one who "created" the
trust. For ease of reading, we shall use the term Maker throughout this writing.
When you die or become incapacitated, your successor trustee, someone you choose
to manage your assets and affairs in your absence, takes over the trust for either your
benefit (if you are incapacitated) or, upon your death, for the benefit of your children
or other named beneficiaries. Upon your death your successor trustee acts just like an
Executor would, under a “Will”, but without having to seek court approval and court
costs. Your Revocable Trust can easily structure payouts to children and other
beneficiaries, either holding the distribution until certain ages (i.e. one-half at age 25
and the other half at age 30), or providing for payouts over the lifetime. The successor
trustee(s) must follow your wishes, and you control the distribution of your assets.
Because you have this 'control,' you are capable of avoiding problems associated with
giving immature children large sums of money. Meaning, under a Will, if you simply
say, "I leave my entire estate to my only daughter, Mary Sue," and you die when
Mary Sue is 10, Mary Sue will receive your entire estate upon turning the age of 18.
Now this might be fine if the entire estate is only $20,000 or $30,000, but would it be
appropriate if the estate was $80,000 or more?
Revocable Trusts allow you to make within them, other trusts. These 'new trusts'
would be managed by your named successor trustee for the benefit of the persons for
whom they were created. So, in the case of Mary Sue, if she were to receive $80,000
upon your death, a Revocable Trust allows you to structure the payout of the $80,000
to Mary Sue (i.e. one-half at age 25 and the other half at age 30). Some will argue that
Wills can do the same thing, and this is true, again however a will requires the
probate. Therefore, most people prepare Revocable Trusts to avoid the probate
process and the probate costs. People with extremely large estates (generally, married
couple with one million or greater) create them for other more complex reasons
including estate tax, but by-in-large, probate avoidance is cited as the most common
reason for selecting the Revocable Trust, regardless of your estate size.
Under the law, assets which are owned by a Revocable Trust are NOT subject to the
probate system upon your death. What few people realize that they can encounter the
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probate process before death if they were to become incapacitated. In the event you
become incapacitated, and you did not have the proper documents prepared, you
would need to go through a guardianship. This is a formal process, requiring at least
one court appearance before a judge. Absent the proper documents, only a judge has
the authority to appoint someone to act on your behalf and manage your affairs. In
fact, most nursing homes will not accept residents without a court order or the powers
of attorney included in the Revocable Trust package. Therefore, a Revocable Trust
potentially avoids two court encounters. With a Revocable Trust, you and your
spouse, acting as the trustees of your own trust, can easily act for each other in the
event one of you becomes disabled or incompetent, and is further capable of assuming
this role without obtaining court approval. A Revocable Trust if funded and
maintained, can save a family a great deal of money, and reduce the often times
stressful, public nature, costs and delay filled court process.
A child (provided over the age of 18), trusted friend, or other relative can serve as
your successor trustee if you are unmarried or if your spouse for some reason, cannot
serve. They can act in this capacity without obtaining any court approval. Generally,
the only time a court would or could get involved is when someone would allege that
the successor trustee was not doing what they are supposed to do.
Finally, while the upfront cost and time consuming nature of setting up the Revocable
Trust is often greater than with a Will, in the end, the savings, in terms of both money
and time; make the initial investment more than worthwhile.
Compared to a will, the main advantages of a revocable living trust are:





You avoid the probate process. The probate process will require at least one hearing
before the judge, sometimes more. Also you will be required to post notice in the
newspaper, complete and inventory and appraisal of estate assets and possibly annual
accountings.
You avoid the probate costs. The current average cost for probating a will is $2500 per
person, or $5000 for a married couple. The costs will increase each year. With a
properly funded trust, you will not have additional costs.
Privacy. When a will goes through probate, it becomes a public document. Living trusts
seldom become matters for public review.
Living trusts allow you to pre-select someone to take over the role of trustee if you (as
grantor/trustee) become incapacitated. (If you have a Will drafted, the Statutory
Durable Power of Attorney accomplishes the same goal.)
You can avoid the ancillary administration problems that may arise if you own real estate
or other property located outside the State of Texas
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