I was spending time with friends over the weekend and the subject of estate planning came up. We set up our estate a few years ago and it contained a few “future proof” statements, like including “all future children” rather than just naming the ones we had at the time.
One thing we did not do? Name a successor executor. (naming multiple executors is generally considered bad because it can cause a lot of headaches)
Sadly, our named executor passed away unexpectedly a few years ago and we haven’t yet named a new one.
Right now, it’s fine because we’re still alive and can update our estate to name a new executor, but it could be a problem in the future until we fix it (it’s on the list!).
This is covered in our first post today:
Name Successor Trustees (Plural!) for Your Trust [Oblivious Investor] – “Regardless, this is an easily avoided situation. Make sure your trust has multiple successor trustees. Even if you like the idea of naming a family member or a trusted individual professional as the trustee, naming a business entity, such as a well-established law firm that’s likely to outlive any one person, as a final successor trustee can prevent the situation described here.”
Exclusive: How much Acorns savers amassed by investing spare change [Axios] – “How much money would you save up if you invested your spare change in the stock market? The answer, in practice, seems to be about $2,500 over nine years.” The average saved per month was $43… but the fees are $3 – $9, so is it really worth it? Maybe? Kind of?
A history of the American economy through stadium names [Sherwood] – “With that much money changing hands, we’re bound to see trends emerge in who actually pays for these sponsorships, from beer companies to dot-com startups to for-profit colleges and disgraced energy brokers. Where might these naming-rights go next, and what do they tell us about how big-time sports — and the US economy at large — have changed over the past five decades?”