Anthony S. Park

A recent example of headaches and costs if you delay probate: Lou’s mom died owning a co-op apartment in New York. Since there was no mortgage, Lou and his sisters didn’t think there was any rush to deal with it. More than a year passed, and the co-op wanted clarity on who the legal owner is. Lou and his sisters each took turns saying they’d handle it, then dropped the ball. Finally, the co-op got tired of waiting and took action.

Co-op Foreclosures in NYC

The co-op began a foreclosure proceeding. Condo and co-op foreclosures aren’t just for missed mortgage payments. Foreclosures are also for missed maintenance payments and to clear the title. In this case, the co-op board doesn’t necessarily want the money. They want control so that they can put the apartment on the market and sell as they see fit.

The proceeds from the sale would ultimately go to Lou and his siblings, but they would have no control over the process. And, the co-op’s legal fees will get paid from the sale proceeds.

Someone Else Will Probate

The co-op doesn’t want to be the administrator of someone’s estate. So, the co-op asked the court to name the Public Administrator (PA) to be the executor for Lou’s mom’s estate.

As we’ve discussed before, you don’t want the PA in charge of your estate. The PA may be competent, but they are probably not the best fit for your needs in estate administration.

Now that the co-op asked the court to appoint the PA, Lou can’t simply ask the court to become the executor instead. Now Lou and his sisters must fight off the PA (and the PA’s legal fees) if they want to keep control of their mom’s estate.

How Long Do You Have To File Probate After Death

There is no official rule or deadline for how long you have to file after death. Maybe after three months you are still paralyzed by your loved one’s death that you weren’t ready to move forward. Maybe by six months you are overwhelmed in trying to find a lawyer. But the court will start losing sympathy for you after about a year. The court understands that you need time to grieve, but getting started sooner is better.

Of course, Lou’s example is not the only way delaying probate can cause problems. Start talking to an attorney as soon as possible to understand the process. If you reach out to an attorney, they will not sit on your case for a year. They and their team will start working on the process while you are grieving.

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Let’s review a real-world case study of a client’s plan to transfer his bitcoin upon his death. This looks like an elegant solution, so let us know if you see any major red flags!

Cloned wallets and sharded seeds

The client’s plan focused on clone wallets and sharded seeds.

The plan starts with two clone hardware wallets. A hardware wallet is like a minicomputer that plugs into your USB drive, but it is not fully connected to the internet or the computer. It keeps your private keys/secret codes offline while allowing you to interact in online transactions. When you clone your hardware wallet, you make duplicates of it. Each clone wallet is password protected.

The client gives one clone wallet to his executor. He gives the other clone wallet to his sister (who is an heir). Neither the executor nor the sister has the PIN to the wallet. They just have the device. They will receive the PIN upon the client’s death either by dead man’s switch or from another heir.

Then the client shards his seed phrase. Remember the seed phrase is 12 or 24 secret words that you can use to recover your cryptocurrency if something happens to your hardware wallet.

The client has divided his 12 words into two chunks of 6. The client gives half of those seed words to his executor. The executor won’t receive the second half of the words until the client dies.

Upon death, the executor will receive the PIN code to his clone wallet and then he has access to the cryptocurrency. The back-up plan is that the sister receives her PIN code from another heir or dead man’s switch. Then she has access to the cryptocurrency. In the event of hardware failure, the executor will receive the second half of the seed words to recover the hardware wallet.

Risk of theft vs catastrophic loss

Plans need to balance risk of theft vs. risk of catastrophic loss. You are twice as likely to lose your cryptocurrency than to have a hacker steal it from you. It is more complicated than memorizing a PIN code. You don’t have the safeguard of calling a bank to reset your PIN. It is also easy to over-complicate things and make it too difficult for your heirs. There might be security holes in your plan, but are they big enough to merit increasing risk of catastrophic loss?

Redundancy, and balancing risks

Using multiple hardware wallets is tangible and understandable. A hardware wallet is a device, and it needs a code to access the cryptocurrency. If hardware wallets fail, then you can always shard the seed phrase.

By using cloned wallets, there is a slight increase for the risk of theft. In this case, the client accepted the increased risk of theft to decrease the chance of his cryptocurrency disappearing upon his death.

While this plan isn’t perfect, I like it. Please pick it apart - I want to hear your feedback. We might not be hard-core “bitcoin-ers,” but we do know what happens when people die! Being an executor is not easy. If you add cryptocurrency to the executor’s job, it’s definitely harder. It will be interesting to learn more as people die holding cryptocurrency.

If you want to learn more about probate in general, please check out my book, “How Probate Works.” I don’t have a Bitcoin chapter yet, but you will get a sense of how the probate process applies to your Bitcoin situation.

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We’ve talked about mistakes when choosing the witnesses to your will (5 Mistakes With DIY Wills and Witnesses), but what actually happens if you can’t track down a witness during the probate process?

Witnesses to a will cannot be found

What does it mean when the witness cannot be found? First, it could be that the witness has passed away. Second, it could mean that they left the state or the country. In todays’ age of technology, it is not that big of a deal if someone moves, but it can still lead to complications in the probate process.

Lastly, sometimes the witness simply won’t cooperate. Sometimes the witness is someone doing a good deed at the time of witnessing but doesn’t want further contact after the person is deceased. For example, maybe the attorney asked a random hospital worker to witness a patient’s will.

What to do when witnesses to will cannot be found

What does a probate attorney do when a witness to a will cannot be found? It starts with internet searches, but if no results turn up then the attorney can hire a private investigator. Private investigators have access to tools and databases that a regular person does not. They can find the witness or proof of the witness’s death. Then the attorney can prove that he or she was diligent in finding contact information or proof of death.

If an attorney was present to supervise the will signing, then ask that attorney to act as a second witness. It’s like having a backup witness in place.

Once you have the witness information, the attorney needs to check if the court will accept only one witness. Unfortunately, even after all the diligent and time-consuming work, the court may still decide that one witness is not enough.

How to avoid missing witnesses

You should always make a self-proving will. This means that the will has a separate affidavit that the witnesses sign saying that they witnessed the will. It’s an extra layer of confirmation, but it is not iron-clad. If the will is contested, then the witnesses can still be called into court.

It is a good idea to have professional witnesses to your will. This does not mean “professionals” such as nurses, doormen, bank tellers, etc. Professional witnesses could be paralegals or other attorneys who do this regularly. First of all, they know what to look for and know how to testify later as a witness to a will. Also, they are generally more available and easier to track down.

Even if your state requires two witnesses for a will, you can have more. That way, if one died away or is hard to find, then you can at least still have the required two. It’s like having a back-up to the back-up.

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After we published When Does the Executor Tell the Beneficiaries, many listeners and clients have asked: how does the court know who to notify?

Great question; the answer depends on who the heirs are.

If survived by many heirs

If the person who passed is survived by many heirs, the court relies on a system of checks and balances. The court sort of assumes that one of the other heirs will step up and say something is something is out of whack.

For example, let’s say that there are actually seven nieces and nephews, but only six people have signed off on the court papers. The assumption is that one of them would mention the missing seventh person. The court will likely rely on the fact that the family members will keep each other in check.

If survived by one close heir

Perhaps the person who passed is survived by only one heir, such as a sole spouse or an only adult child. The court needs an “affidavit of heirship” or “family tree affidavit.” This is a document that someone else must sign, swearing under oath that this is how the family tree looks. The person who signs the family tree affidavit can’t be the sole surviving spouse or child, or the sole heir’s spouse or child. So, who’s left? Usually you can use another relative (who doesn’t inherit), a longtime friend, or clergy.

If survived by distant heirs

“Distant heirs'' can mean a couple different things. Your situation falls into this category if the family tree heirs involve first cousins or similar. It’s easy enough to prove that the person who passed had five children. But, once there are a certain number of distant heirs, the court needs proof of relationships. The court may require a genealogy report to prove complicated relationships. It is easier for the court to understand the family tree when it’s laid out on paper. In addition to the professionally verified genealogy report, the court may require a court-appointed third-party (usually the public administrator) to review and confirm the family tree. It is another method of checks and balances to make sure one side of cousins isn’t doing something to the exclusion of others.

In conclusion, you can’t go to the court to simply tell them who you are and get the estate moving. There are steps in place to keep people from doing so.

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Many people make this mistake with personal property when creating their estate plan: They include a long laundry list of the tiniest items in their official, legal will.

We’ll discuss why this can be a problem, and what you should do instead.

Leaving personal property in a will

It is very common to leave personal property in a will. However, it can cause problems during the probate process.

Personal property lists change frequently. The items on the list may change, or you may change who you want to receive the items. You won’t want to pay money to update your will every time there is a change on the list.

Unlike a bank account, it’s hard to put a value on your personal property. Some personal property items that might make sense to put in the will are large or expensive items. Examples of these are a classic car, expensive jewelry and art, and collectibles. To determine whether the item has significant value, ask yourself: would this item be worth sending to an appraiser?

Personal property you should never put in your will

To re-cap, items that are fine to put in your will are ones with big value, worth paying for an appraisal, and things that you will likely still own when you die.

People love to put furniture in their wills, but this isn’t usually a good idea. Furniture is often in poor condition, heavy, and costly to move. It also puts pressure on the beneficiaries who may not have wanted the furniture, as most people already have complete furnished houses.

What about jewelry that is more expensive than costume jewelry, but less expensive than “estate” jewelry? It’s worth something, but not worth appraising. In this case, it’s best not to mention it in the will.

Lastly, do not put clothing in your will! Unless it is a costly mink coat, it’s not worth the headache to have your will revised every time you get rid of or buy clothing. Again, like furniture, your clothes may not be desired by your heirs.

It’s not that these items are not important, but there is a better way to leave much of your personal property to your loved ones.

Use a personal property memorandum, instead

A personal property memorandum is a separate document that is not part of your will. Revising your will is expensive but updating a personal property memorandum is not. The personal property memorandum is very easy to update. It could be as simple as a Word document that you update as you wish, then send the most recent copy to your attorney to keep on file. Unlike a will, the personal property memorandum is not legally binding, and that’s ok! You should choose an executor who you trust to carry out your wishes.

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In Episode 206 we talked about how to set up a trust. This time, we’ll talk about how to manage a bitcoin trust as the trustee.

How to Transfer Bitcoin to Trustee

As we discussed in Episode 206, there are a couple of ways to transfer control of the trust to the trustee. These are the dead man’s switch, sharding, and even old-school envelopes.

The dead man’s switch requires the trust maker to hit a button at regular scheduled intervals. Failure to hit the button presumes your death, and an email containing your seed phrase gets sent to your trusted people. (This is not a good plan, since it stores your seed on a ‘hot” device, the email server).

You can also “shard” your code and break up your seed phrase into chunks. You would give these chunks to different trusted people who will come together after your death to put the pieces together.

How to Invest the Trust Assets

Now that trustee has control, how should the trustee hold and manage the Bitcoin? This depends on the decedent's wishes.

Sometimes, the decedent’s wish is to liquidate to fiat, convert to cash, then invest it as a normal trust.

But most bitcoin holders probably want their trust to continue to hold bitcoin on behalf of the heirs. The problem is that there is no such thing as a fiduciary account on the centralized exchanges. That is, there's no way for a trustee to open an account at Coinbase, Gemini, etc. Those exchanges only allow individuals to open accounts, not trusts. So make sure you choose a trustee who knows how to handle a digital or hardware wallets and safeguard the trust keys/seeds.

If your trustee holds the Bitcoin in trust, he must manage his own wallet. He must also maintain security and anti-loss protocols as if it were his own. If the trustee dies with the keys or seed phrases, that’s not good. The trustee needs to have something in place to avoid catastrophic loss in a secure way. It makes sense for the trustee to have a sharding with the successor trustee or a backup attorney.

Bitcoin Trust Fund Distribution to Beneficiaries

Since cryptocurrency is so volatile, it is best to distribute the bitcoin in-kind. Meaning, instead of the trustee selling the Bitcoin and giving the cash to the heir, just distribute the actual bitcoin to the heir. This way, the beneficiary bears risk of if/when to exchange to fiat.

The problem with this approach is that not all beneficiaries know how to receive or manage cryptocurrency. Beneficiaries should have some skill with cryptocurrency and have their own wallets/digital addresses.

If you want to learn more about how a professional executor or trustee can help , check out my book, “How to Hire an Executor,” available on Amazon. I don’t have a Bitcoin chapter yet, but you'll get a sense of how choosing a professional can make things easier, especially for something complicated like an estate that includes Bitcoin.

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In a recent case, Liz’s dad had bought a co-op with his girlfriend. Liz’s dad broke up with his girlfriend but continued to co-own the apartment as “tenants-in-common.” Liz’s dad passed away, so what happens to the co-op now?

What Happens When a Tenant in Common Dies?

Unless there is a specific percentage for the tenants in common, the property divides equally.

If they had owned as “joint tenants” instead of “tenants-in-common,” then the girlfriend would become sole owner. But, the co-op shares certificate states “tenants in common." So the girlfriend is a half owner, and Liz’s dad’s estate is now a half owner.

Is Probate Required for Tenants in Common?

The short answer is yes. Liz and her siblings must probate their dad’s estate to inherit their half share of the co-op. Right now, Liz and her siblings must appoint an executor who has legal authority to conduct business for the estate. A court-appointed executor has the right to enter the premises, to gain information from the co-op, and eventually to sell the property.

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Recently, our solo ager client, Julie, moved into a long-term rehabilitation facility. Thankfully, her health is stable, but her bills are starting to fall behind.

No plan: What is Article 81 Guardianship?

An Article 81 guardian is someone that takes over your financial affairs when you have no prior plan. By walking you through this situation, we will show you what can happen if you fail to plan.

Unfortunately, Julie only had half a plan. She has a Last Will and in it, I’m named as her executor because she has no relatives nearby. But this is only half of a plan because a will only takes effect when Julie dies. Until then, I have no legal authority.

To help Julie manage her finances and pay her bills, I have to ask the court to name me as her Article 81 guardian. Any time you have to go to court, there are usually delays, costs, and uncertainty. While we are waiting at the mercy of the court process, Julie's co-op payments are falling behind.

Better Plan: Guardianship vs Revocable Trust

What would have been a better, complete plan for Julie? In this case, with a revocable trust, I could step in and help Julie without the long court process. Besides avoiding probate, another benefit of a revocable trust is the end-of-life help with finances. For the same reasons you’d  avoid probate, you’d want your end-of-life team to be able to help you without going to court.

If you worry that it’s too expensive to hire a lawyer for a trust, note that the cost of an Article 81 guardianship is between $5,000 to $10,000. A revocable trust costs about $2,000. I don't recommend revocable trusts for everyone, but it is often a wise option for solo agers.

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Going through probate is a grueling 1-to-2-year process. Would you want to go through all that if you don’t even get anything out of it?

If you think the estate may be insolvent, consider hiring a professional executor.

What’s an Insolvent Estate?

An insolvent estate is when the decedent’s debts are greater than the assets. For example, the mortgage, credit card debt, and medical bills are greater than the value of the house and bank accounts.

There are also situations where the estate is close to being insolvent and you don't realize it. Examples of this are Medicare clawback and unseen taxes. If you received medical care paid for by the government, the government will want the money back when you die. This could leave your estate with a large bill. Additionally, the IRS will look over your taxes carefully to be sure they didn't miss anything.

Who Must Probate the Estate?

Many family members and heirs ask: am I required to be executor? The answer is no! You can decline or not act at all. Although, some may feel like they are dishonoring their deceased loved one by leaving the estate as a mess.

If you think the decedent is close to having an insolvent estate, you have options.

One not-so-great option is to let the state take over. There’s a state office (sort of like the public defender, but called a public administrator) that can step in. But, the interest in the estate and the incentives might not be the same as a person who you hire to help.

Instead, Hire a Professional Executor for the Estate

A better option is hiring a professional executor. You won't have to do the stressful work yourself and you don’t have to feel bad about abandoning your loved one’s estate to the public administrator.

Even if the estate is NOT insolvent, you now have a relationship with the hired executor. This helps to make sure you get your inheritance. If the estate IS insolvent, then you can relax knowing that a professional is there to wrap up the estate.

Free copy of "The Solo Ager Estate Plan"

Complete this form to receive your complimentary copy of Anthony’s Amazon best-seller, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan”

Cryptocurrency (such as Bitcoin) is a new and unique asset. It’s sort of like cash, personal property, and intellectual property all in one. You need to plan for this type of asset in a different way than you would for your bank or brokerage account.

If you want a revocable trust for your bitcoin, you’ll need both a legal plan and a technical plan.

What to Include in Your Bitcoin Estate Plan?

If you want your trustee to hold bitcoin, you can’t rely on the same old boilerplate trust language. You’ll need to tweak a few things for your legal plan to work.

 

Opt-out of the prudent investor rule

Most trustees must follow the Prudent Investor rule, which (roughly) says the trustee may be liable for losses if he doesn’t invest the trust portfolio according to legacy investment principals. For example, 60% equities, 30% bonds, 10% cash. This doesn’t work for Bitcoin, since most people still consider it highly speculative. So a bitcoin revocable trust must include language opting-out of the prudent investor rule.

Access to devices and logins

Make sure to include language that gives your trustee access to your computers, devices, and logins. Without this, your trustee may technically be violating privacy laws.

Keep it flexible

It is important to keep your Bitcoin estate plan flexible since cryptocurrency continues to evolve.

Bitcoin in a Living Trust

With a traditional bank, you'd rename your account so that the trust owns it and not the individual. For example, you’d rename your personal checking account from “John Doe,” to “The John Doe Trust.”

But this won’t work if you hold your bitcoin on a centralized exchange. Currently, exchanges don’t open accounts for trustees. Nor do they offer beneficiary designations. So, to make a bitcoin trust, you’ll need to hold via a digital, hardware, or paper wallet where you control your keys.

Think of your wallet as personal property, like artwork and other collectables that don’t have a deed or other record of ownership. One way to prove transfer of ownership for personal property is to sign a gift or assignment deed from yourself to your trust.

What Happens to the Bitcoin Trust Upon Your Death?

Now onto your technical plan: how to give access to your trustee when you die.

One solution is to “shard” your seed phrase and break it into chunks. For example, give half of the words to your lawyer, then give the other half of the words to another trusted person. Only upon your death will these two people be able to connect with each other to complete the seed.

A component of those plans could be a “dead man switch." A dead man switch is where you routinely do something (ex. press a button) to indicate you are still alive. If you fail to press the button or miss two button presses, then it is presumed that you are dead. An email containing seed phrase then goes to your trusted people. (This is not a good plan, since it stores your seed on a ‘hot” device, the email server)

You could also give your seed to your trusted people in sealed envelopes. If this is worrisome, you could tell them to send you pictures to show that the envelope is still sealed (not ideal, just brainstorming here!)

We have worked on several Bitcoin revocable trusts, and these are the types of situations we encounter. It is exciting for us to learn about cryptocurrency and work with our clients to protect these valuable assets.

If you want to learn more about how a professional executor or trustee can help , check out my book, “How to Hire an Executor,” available on Amazon. I don’t have a Bitcoin chapter yet, but you'll get a sense of how choosing a professional can make things easier, especially for something complicated like an estate that includes Bitcoin.

Request your free consultation