In our fast-paced world, the average person is consumed with how to improve and sustain their quality of life. Little attention is paid to what happens when they become incapacitated or pass away. For some people, the thought about putting structures in place only takes place at the tail end of their adult life.
If this sounds a lot like you, consider putting a plan in place as soon as possible. The two primary ways to make the transmission of your assets seamless is through a written Will or the use of a Trust. A Will is a legal document that captures your wishes and the distribution of your assets. It clearly outlines who should take on the responsibility of managing your assets until they are distributed. With a Trust, a Trustee is appointed in your life time to hold and manage your assets on your behalf for your beneficiaries.
When a Will or Trust is not in place prior to your demise, a lot of paperwork is often needed to fix the process of transfer to a beneficiary. This will obviously impact traditional assets such as bank deposits, retirement savings with a pension fund administrator, stock holdings, real estate and other physical or financial assets. The process of transferring these assets could take months and even years simply because the person did not have a Will or Trust in place.
Applicable taxes on assets not stated in a Will may also lead to a reduction in the value of the original asset being transferred to a beneficiary. In addition, the rise in the use of digital platforms means that if you fail to create and keep such records with a Corporate Trustee for safe keeping, online accounts and passwords that are not recorded securely could become inaccessible after your demise. It is therefore possible that some assets that you own may be lost forever.
FBNQuest offers you the opportunity to put your house in order and make life easier for your beneficiaries. We are happy to advise you on how to draft a Will and put you in touch with realities that can make the process seamless and efficient. We also assist with structuring your Trust arrangements with the use of the Trust Deed in line with your wishes.
Single, married, young or old – You probably have assets that you would like to pass on to people or organizations that mean a lot to you. It takes careful planning to ensure that your intention to gift these assets are properly executed.