Case Study: 93-Year-Old Woman Updates Living Trust

Bill Schaaf, co-owner of the Walnut Creek office, recently helped a 93-year-old woman update her Living Trust and associated documents. She was a delightful widow who still lived alone, is healthy and stays active; she loves to dance, and is particularly fond of line dancing. While in excellent health, she knows she is growing older and wanted to make some basic changes to her documents. Her main concern was updating her Power of Attorney and Advance Healthcare Directive, identifying the people she feels comfortable making decisions for her if the time comes when she’s no longer able to make them for herself.

Banker daughter becomes primary decision-maker

She leads a busy, full life and knows she is lucky to be involved in the lives of her two children and four grandchildren who reside in the area. She is very close to her daughter, who lives just a few miles away. Her daughter also enjoys good health, so she feels comfortable making the daughter her primary decision-maker. An important consideration is time--her daughter is retired, with the time to help manage her mother’s affairs, if it becomes necessary.

Our client is also close to her grandson, a Walnut Creek resident and attorney, so she has identified him as her backup agent if something should happen to her daughter. She has thoughtfully chosen these family members based on both their proximity, availability and business savvy. Her daughter was a banker for many years, so our client knows that she will be able to manage the financial information and paperwork that are part of managing someone’s estate.

Updating Living Trust includes updating digital assets

Our client may be 93, but she’s computer-savvy, pays her bills online and has logins and passwords to both her banking accounts and several brokerage accounts. She also loves to stay in touch and regularly exchanges emails with her grandchildren and follows them on Facebook. She had just read an article about the importance of updating digital assets, so we listed her accounts and identified the logins and passwords in her Living Trust. We also listed important service providers--healthcare providers, her financial advisor, pharmacy and her accountant.

Updating her Living Trust was a relatively simple procedure for our client, but having current information in one place where her daughter and grandson can access it quickly can be invaluable for her daughter and grandson.

Read other California Document Preparers’ blogs about Living Trusts:

8 Signs That It’s Time to Update Your Living Trust

Mythbusters: 6 Common Misperceptions about Living Trusts

When was the last time you updated your Living Trust?

We always counsel our clients to update their Living Trusts for major life events-- births, deaths, divorces, important investments—anything that represents a significant change to your life circumstances. Call to make an appointment today. The California Document Preparers team helps you through every step.