Impact Article

3 Ways to Provide for Your Family’s Future

01.31.2011
Posted by Noelle Smith of Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County
3 Ways to Provide for Your Family’s Future picture

1. Draft and Execute a Will. A Will is a written document that tells your loved ones how you want to dispose of your personal and real property. If you do not have a will, you will not be able to decide who is to inherit your personal and real property.

2. Find out if an Irrevocable Living Trust is right for you. An Irrevocable Living Trust allows a person to add personal and real property to a trust and remove the items from their name. The trust is administered by a trustee who has the responsibility of managing all of the assets in the trust.

3. Open a Payable On Death (POD) Account at your local bank or credit union. A payable on death account (also known as a Totten Trust) is an account in which the account holder names a beneficiary. Once the account holder passes away, the beneficiary will receive the funds in the account without having to probate the person's estate. It is important to note that the beneficiary of the POD account does not have any right to the account until the account holder passes away.