What will happen when you die?

Virago · 03-31-2013, 10:12 AM

Ciaran
Amazing thread. Thank you.

This isn't a new thought process for me. I lost my parents and grandparents when I was 22, back in '80. Also, as a NY actor I lost so many of my closest friends to AIDS at that time so I have thought on this a lot.

But I am also luckier than many, as my father worked in a law firm that specialized in Estate Law so this topic was desensitized to me and made a part of life. I was also lucky that I had wonderful parents and grandparents in those 22 years.

I am single now, so I am not worried about a fluid transition of my funds to a partner, but I hope those of you who are reliant on your spouse's income along with yours, or who have children, look into different things.

My father had it set up this way (and these laws differ from state to state so please have a specialist help you)
First I'll tell you what he did for my brother and myself. We weren't rich -middle class living paycheck to paycheck, but he had insurance policies and we had a house and knew with his and my mother's illnesses (they died 2 months apart) that my brother and I would be lost in the years that followed. He also knew that people in grief blow through money stupidly. He made a stipulation that all inheritance go into a trust fund for 7 years. At that time interest was 7% so we had personal choice as to take the interest as income or let it roll. I, at 22 an out of work actor needed to take it BUT LET ME SAY THIS -and I think this is important. It wasn't enough for me to live on and waste away. I still needed to work and thus focus, not drink or toke or snort it all away. My brother at 25 with a full time job rolled it and eventually bought a house. At the end of 7 years we got the principle. And although 7 years wasn't enough time to finish grieving, it gave us time to think about what to do with the money more clearly. You can pick a caring and trusted friend or family member to oversee the trust.

I can't remember how he had his funds set up so we were never money locked. I believe it was all in his name in trust for my mother, or maybe it was a joint account. I know all of our accounts were always in our names intrust for another in the family so nothing was ever fully locked. As soon as he passed away, all my mother's accounts had my brother's name on it with hers

I hope this helps some of you with families

03-31-2013, 10:12 AM	#21
Virago Member How Do You Identify?: Butch Relationship Status: Single Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 387 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 404 Thanked 1,122 Times in 306 Posts Rep Power: 8364711	Ciaran Amazing thread. Thank you. This isn't a new thought process for me. I lost my parents and grandparents when I was 22, back in '80. Also, as a NY actor I lost so many of my closest friends to AIDS at that time so I have thought on this a lot. But I am also luckier than many, as my father worked in a law firm that specialized in Estate Law so this topic was desensitized to me and made a part of life. I was also lucky that I had wonderful parents and grandparents in those 22 years. I am single now, so I am not worried about a fluid transition of my funds to a partner, but I hope those of you who are reliant on your spouse's income along with yours, or who have children, look into different things. My father had it set up this way (and these laws differ from state to state so please have a specialist help you) First I'll tell you what he did for my brother and myself. We weren't rich -middle class living paycheck to paycheck, but he had insurance policies and we had a house and knew with his and my mother's illnesses (they died 2 months apart) that my brother and I would be lost in the years that followed. He also knew that people in grief blow through money stupidly. He made a stipulation that all inheritance go into a trust fund for 7 years. At that time interest was 7% so we had personal choice as to take the interest as income or let it roll. I, at 22 an out of work actor needed to take it BUT LET ME SAY THIS -and I think this is important. It wasn't enough for me to live on and waste away. I still needed to work and thus focus, not drink or toke or snort it all away. My brother at 25 with a full time job rolled it and eventually bought a house. At the end of 7 years we got the principle. And although 7 years wasn't enough time to finish grieving, it gave us time to think about what to do with the money more clearly. You can pick a caring and trusted friend or family member to oversee the trust. I can't remember how he had his funds set up so we were never money locked. I believe it was all in his name in trust for my mother, or maybe it was a joint account. I know all of our accounts were always in our names intrust for another in the family so nothing was ever fully locked. As soon as he passed away, all my mother's accounts had my brother's name on it with hers I hope this helps some of you with families