Yes, sometimes your estate plan can be changed AFTER you die to alter bequests made in Wills and Revocable Trusts. (For ease, “will” is used throughout this article.) This is done to change ownership of assets and/or to obtain the best tax results possible. These changes are made by your Executor, who make certain tax elections, and by your beneficiaries, who decide whether or not they want some or all of the bequests you made to them. Your Executor also chooses the estate assets with which to fund various trusts. Post mortem planning provides the opportunity for 20/20 hindsight, as these decisions are made in light of the circumstances existing at your death (ex., tax rates, exemption amounts, surviving beneficiaries).

Originally published in Lloyd Harbor Life - April 2020.