Bad Account Titles

The best crafted estate and trust plan can be ruined if the title, ownership and beneficiary designations on your accounts and other assets is wrong. For example, you may have created trusts to protect your heirs under your will or revocable trust. But if your investment accounts are set up as joint ownership, or pay on death to a named person (POD), or TOD, those assets will pass to the person named not to the trusts that were at the core of your plan. It is critical to the success of your plan that your financial adviser understand your plan and confirm that all accounts are set up consistent with that plan.