Rather than dedicate our efforts this month to informing our readers about one specific set of issues arising in the trusts and estates practice, we thought it would be helpful to instead focus on the mistakes we regularly see, which, with a little care and effort, can be avoided for the peace of mind of the client, and the financial benefit of the objects of the client’s bounty:

Joint Accounts. We often learn, after a client’s death, that the client had been persuaded, by a friend, family member, or bank teller, to add a child’s name to a bank account (or even an investment account or real estate) in order to make things easier to access the client’s funds after death, for the purpose of paying funeral and other bills, and distributing funds to heirs. As a general matter, we advise against this practice because it muddies the water about the client’s intentions for those funds.