Minor Children and "Payable on Death" accounts- okay or stupid?

[klanders]

What is the name of your state? Michigan

Hi, I have a will that sets up a pot trust for my children (currently they are 8 and 11 yrs old) and names a guardian and a trustee for them. If my husband I and were to die today the house and car would go through that. Our banking and brokerage accounts currently are set up as "payable on death" to our children (if we were both dead). Being that they are minors, will these accounts just roll into the pot trust or will they still get tangled up in probate? How about our IRA's? What happens to that money when it is to go to a minor beneficiary?

ALSO... if I have a living trust created for us and put the house into it, but never change the "payable on death" beneficiary on the bank/brokerage accounts, will those accounts still have to go to probate if they are minors, or will those accounts just get rolled into the trust at that time?

And if I had a living trust, rather than putting my bank accounts/brokerage accounts into it, could I make the trust the beneficiary using the "payable on death" or "transfer on death" beneficiary forms?

Thanks for your help!!What is the name of your state?

 

[Dandy Don]

A perfect example of why you need to be consulting a trust attorney or a certified estate planner to achieve exactly what you want--if the assets are not titled correctly, this means your beneficiaries or guardian will have to spend money on legal fees trying to get everything straightened out.