Are Payable-On-Death Accounts Right For You? from Austin Estate Planning Lawyer Liz Nielsen

Payable-On-Death Accounts

A payable-on-death account, also called a POD account or sometimes a transfer-on-death (TOD) account, is a common way to keep bank and investment accounts out of probate, the court-supervised process that oversees distributing a deceased person’s property. Most people want to avoid their estate going through probate because their heirs will receive the inheritance faster, privately, and at lower cost.

Is a POD account an appropriate solution for your needs? Let’s examine what POD accounts do and how they fit into the overall picture.

Agent Now Has Duty to Preserve Estate Plan from Austin Estate Planning Lawyer Liz Nielsen

Austin Estate Planning Lawyer

Imagine a situation where daughter is serving as the agent under mom’s financial power of attorney.  Mom’s estate plan provides that her estate will pass 40% to daughter, 40% to son and 20% to mom’s favorite niece.  The main asset in mom’s estate is a nice (and very valuable) Westlake home.  In order to avoid probate on mom’s death, daughter files a lady bird deed, naming daughter and son as the only beneficiaries of the family home.  Does the slighted niece have any recourse?