Yesterday, I talked with a man from Metairie whose mother died over the weekend. When Mom died, she had plenty of money, but now her kids have no access to her funds because she did not structure her affairs properly. The kids are currently attempting to make funeral arrangements; however, it has become apparent that they will need to find a way to pay for the funeral without the use of Mom’s funds. They will either be forced to use credit cards or their own personal savings to take care of the funeral costs, and will need to wait to be reimbursed for the expenses from Mom’s estate.
The reason Mom’s accounts are frozen is that only her name was on those accounts. Now that she is dead and can no longer sign for those accounts, the banks and financial institutions are required to freeze the accounts until they receive court orders from a judge giving one or more of the kids access to the accounts. To get these court orders the kids must open succession. Opening Louisiana succession means even more money out of the kids’ pockets for attorney’s fees and court costs.
All of this could have been avoided if mom had created a living trust to hold title to her investments and added at least one child’s name to her bank accounts. With a Louisiana living trust and a child added to bank accounts, the kids would have immediate access to Mom’s funds, and there would be no need for the stress, cost, and delay the family is currently experiencing through Louisiana Succession (aka probate).
To discuss the best way to establish your estate plan in a way that allows your heirs all the flexibility and access they need, call (504) 274-1980 in the Metairie and New Orleans Area or call (985) 246-3020 in Mandeville, Covington, Slidell, Houma, Thibodaux, and surrounding areas.