MY KIDS GET ALONG GREAT…
I hear it frequently. Most of the time they probably do get along well enough. Though, is it unthinkable that your children will have disagreements after you are gone? After all, you will no longer be there to act as the moderator, or at least as a buffer. And if your children do not get along particularly well while you are living, don’t expect that the stress of your passing will bring out their best— the opposite is more likely to be true, at least in the short term.
So what should be done? Each situation, of course is different, but there are estate planning strategies that will facilitate cooperation among your children. For starters, you can consider carefully who you want to act as the decision-makers for your estate, be it as the executor under your will, trustee of your trust, or as guardian for your minor children. State clearly and definitively who your beneficiaries are and what they are to receive and under what circumstances. Moreover, you should clearly state what, if anything, is expected of your beneficiaries. It may be unrealistic to expect that your kids will naturally “do the right thing.”
One thing which deserves special attention in your estate planning is the use of joint accounts. Perhaps you favor a particular child and want to add that child as a joint tenant to avoid probate of an account. On the other hand, you may want to add one of your children to an account because he or she lives close by and is able to conveniently assist you with your banking needs. In either case, one should specify within a will what the intentions are with respect to the joint account after your death and if it is to go to the surviving child named on the account, or to be divided up amongst all of your children as part of your estate. Perhaps, more importantly, when the account is first set up at the bank, your intentions should be made clear. Most banks provide a standard signature card which provides for a right of survivorship of a joint tenant. However, it is important to read and understand the signature card agreement, the fine print, so-called. If one intends only to add the child’s name as a matter of convenience for banking purposes, and not as a means of making a testamentary disposition, one needs to be certain that the agreement with the bank accurately reflects this fact.
The law of joint accounts has evolved over time in Rhode Island. There is a long history of litigation, and although the law has been modernized and there is now more certainty in this area of the law, there is sure to be more litigation in the future.
