• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Law Offices of Kobrick and Moccia

Long Island Estate Planning Attorneys

ESTATE, TRUST PLANNING &
ELDER LAW INFORMATION CENTER

Call Now: (800) 295.1917

  • Attend Our Free Webinars
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Client Testimonials
    • Meet Our Team
  • Services
    • Blended Family Planning
    • Elder Law
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration
  • Elder Law
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Guardianship
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Nursing Home Planning
  • Resources
    • Articles
    • Elder Law Resources
      • Commack Elder Law
      • Elder Law Reports
      • Harrison Elder Law
      • Hauppauge Elder Law
      • Rockville Centre Elder Law
      • White Plains Elder Law
    • Estate Planning Definitions
    • FREE Estate Planning Worksheet
    • FREE Seminars
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Elder Law
      • Estate Planning
      • Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicaid
      • Probate
      • Trust Administration
      • Trust Administration & Probate
      • Wills and Trusts
    • Is My Estate Plan Outdated?
    • Legacy Wealth Planning Consultation Form
    • Medicaid Resources
    • Probate Resources
      • Harrison Probate
      • Hauppauge Probate
      • Long Island Probate
    • Probate Checklist
    • Special Reports
      • Advanced Estate Planning
      • Basic Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning for Niches
      • Trust Administration
    • Top Estate Planning Techniques
  • Communities We Serve
    • Nassau County
      • Garden City
      • Lynbrook
      • Malverne
      • Rockville Centre
    • Suffolk County
      • Commack
      • Dix Hills
      • Hauppauge
      • Nesconset
      • Smithtown
    • Westchester County
      • Harrison
      • Mamaroneck
      • Rye Brook
      • White Plains
  • Webinars
  • BLOG
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Contact Us
Home » Estate Planning » Basics of Estate Planning: Lack of Coordination

Basics of Estate Planning: Lack of Coordination

October 30, 2017 by Anthony Moccia Leave a Comment

Blog Author: Stephen C. Hartnett, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), Director of Education,
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.

This is another in a series of blogs on the basics of estate planning.

Perhaps the most common mistake in estate planning is a lack of coordination. This is not where the client, attorney, or advisor cannot walk and chew gum at the same time. This is a failure to consider all the different aspects of a plan and how they may (or may not) work together.

An ever-increasing share of an individual’s wealth is controlled by beneficiary designation.

These may take the form of:

  • Real estate controlled by a beneficiary deed
  • IRAs
  • 401ks
  • Life insurance
  • 529 plan
  • Brokerage account with beneficiary designation
  • Bank account with beneficiary designation

The client may have thought they were being proactive by putting beneficiary designations on many of their assets. Let’s say they’ve executed a beneficiary deed on their house with their daughter, Susan, as the beneficiary. Let’s say their brokerage account designates their son, George. The IRA names their son, Bobby, directly.

Years later, the client decides to get a will and seeks the help of an attorney. The client tells the attorney they want a simple will leaving everything to their son, Bobby, because he’s been caring for them for years now. The attorney could draft a will-based plan leaving all the client’s assets to the son. It may be a well-crafted plan and keep the assets in a testamentary trust for the son, maybe providing divorce or creditor protection, if appropriate.
However, the only thing Bobby would get would be the IRA. Further, the IRA going to Bobby would not have creditor protection under federal law (though in places it might have protection at the state level).

This underscores the importance of clients telling their attorneys what they’ve done in the past and consulting with their attorney before moving assets in the future. If the attorney had drafted and funded the assets into a trust, this would have avoided the problem. Of course, the problem could still exist regarding assets not funded into the trust or later acquired in the client’s name individually. However, if a will were used as the primary planning vehicle, the attorney may not have known of the beneficiary designations. The will only controls the items which are in the client’s name upon death. Items with a beneficiary designation transfer to the beneficiary upon death and are not part of the probate estate and not controlled by the will. Similarly, items in joint tenancy pass to the surviving joint tenant by operation of law and are not controlled by the will.

A well-drafted will or trust is only one aspect of a good estate plan. There’s nothing wrong with using beneficiary designations where appropriate. But, the designations must be coordinated with the rest of the plan.

An upcoming blog will look at another common mistake in the planning process.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Anthony Moccia
Anthony Moccia
Anthony Moccia is an attorney and partner at The Law Offices of Kobrick & Moccia.His practice focuses on estate planning and elder law.He is a member of the New York State and Nassau County Bar Associations.He frequently presents free seminars on wills & living trusts to area residents and his seminars are said to be “informative, entertaining & easy to understand.”
Anthony Moccia
Latest posts by Anthony Moccia (see all)
  • “Last Will and Testament” Origin - April 1, 2021
  • Do I Need a “Durable” Power of Attorney? - April 2, 2020
  • Joint Tenancy Pros and Cons - March 31, 2020

Filed Under: Estate Planning, Legal Education

Other Articles You May Find Useful

“Last Will and Testament” Origin
Joint Tenancy Pros and Cons
Joint Tenancy Pros and Cons
Planning for the Sandwich Generation
Planning for the Sandwich Generation
Best-Places-to-Retire-State
Best Places to Retire: State Taxation
men writing on paper
Whom Do You Want to Get Your Assets?
men writing on paper
Beneficiary Designations and Other Non-Probate Transfers

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Law Offices of Kobrick and Moccia

Download our free estate planning worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Blog Subscription

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

GARDEN CITY

1305 Franklin Avenue Suite 170
Garden City, NY 11530
United States (US)
Phone: (516) 248-9500
Fax: (516) 248-7606

HAUPPAUGE

150 Motor Parkway Suite 401 (Regus)
Hauppauge, NY 11788
United States (US)
Phone: (631) 941-3400
Fax: (516) 248-7606

HARRISON

600 Mamaroneck Avenue, 4th Floor
Harrison, NY 10528
United States (US)
Phone: (914) 701-0777
Fax: (516) 248-7606

MAP

kobrick_sidbr_map

Office Hours

Monday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Footer

footer-logo
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

The information on this Attorneys & Lawyers / Law Firm website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, emails, or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

Kobrick and Moccia, Attorneys at Law. Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Disclaimer | Site Map | Powered by American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

Law Offices of Kobrick and Moccia
Attorney Advertisement
© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.