Author: Written with input from the FaithWise Advisors planning team.
Years ago, you sat down with your estate attorney, signed a thick binder of documents, and felt a real sense of peace. Your trust was in place. Your wishes were on paper. Since then, you have opened new accounts, sold a building, welcomed grandchildren, and watched your giving grow. The binder has stayed on the shelf.
Building a meaningful legacy takes diligence and care. Many families spend decades building a business, acquiring real estate, and growing investments, all while wanting to steward those resources in line with their faith and values. But signing an estate plan is only the first step. Over time, life events, tax law changes, and shifting family needs can pull your legal documents and your actual accounts out of sync.
These gaps don’t mean your original documents were flawed. They open up naturally in the space between what the documents say and how your accounts are actually set up. A financial advisor for your family helps close that distance by reviewing titling, beneficiaries, trustee choices, and charitable plans so your legal structure and your portfolio are designed to work as one plan. National Estate Planning Awareness Week, held each October, is a good reminder to take that look.
Mistake 1: Your Trust and Your Accounts Are Not Connected
A well-written trust can only govern assets that are properly titled to it or directed to it. When a brokerage account stays in an individual name, or business shares are never transferred, the estate plan may not function the way it was designed.
Consider a hypothetical family business owner who sets up a revocable living trust to divide assets equally among three adult children. If the main brokerage account and company shares were never retitled to the trust or registered with a transfer-on-death (TOD) designation, those assets may still go through probate. That means delays, court costs, and public records the family hoped to avoid, even with a trust in place.
An advisor who sees your whole family picture can review every investment account, real estate holding, and business interest to help confirm each one is titled in a way that matches your estate documents. That review helps give you confidence that your plan is structured to work across every custodian, not just on paper.
Mistake 2: Beneficiary Designations That No Longer Match Your Wishes
Beneficiary designations on individual retirement accounts (IRAs), 401(k)s, annuities, and life insurance policies override the instructions in a will or trust. Many people choose beneficiaries when they first open an account and never look at them again. Decades later, large balances may still list an ex-spouse, a relative who has passed away, or names chosen before grandchildren were born.
Why Inherited IRAs Need Extra Attention
Even when beneficiaries are current, the tax impact matters. Under current rules, most non-spouse beneficiaries who inherit a traditional IRA must withdraw the full balance within ten years, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance on retirement account beneficiaries. For adult children in their peak earning years, those withdrawals can push them into a higher tax bracket.
A coordinated review can help you evaluate which assets go to which heirs. For example, some families choose to name a charity as beneficiary of a traditional IRA, since a qualified charity pays no income tax on the distribution, and leave other assets to their children instead. Your advisor, certified public accountant (CPA), and estate attorney can help you weigh whether that approach fits your goals.
Mistake 3: Choosing Trustees by Birth Order Instead of Readiness
Many families name the oldest child, or the one who lives closest, as trustee or executor. But serving in that role means handling fiduciary duties, tax filings, distributions, and sometimes difficult family conversations. Asking a family member to do all of that without support can strain both the estate and the relationship.
Preparing the Next Generation for Stewardship
Consider a hypothetical family passing a real estate portfolio or family business to adult children. The parents want to pass on a culture of generosity and responsible management. If the children have never been part of financial conversations, stepping into a trustee role suddenly can feel overwhelming.
Bringing adult children into planning conversations early helps them understand not just what they will inherit, but why. A multigenerational advisory team can guide those family meetings and help equip the next generation with the knowledge, humility, and confidence to carry forward both capital and character.
Mistake 4: Leaving Charitable Gifts Until the Will
For many Christian families, generosity sits at the center of their legacy. With thoughtful planning, faithful stewardship isn’t a tradeoff between providing for your family and supporting the ministries you love. It can be a multiplier. But a simple cash bequest in a will may not be the most tax-efficient way to support a ministry or nonprofit. Without planning, those gifts might miss out on valuable tax benefits available during your lifetime or through your estate.
Tools such as a donor-advised fund, a charitable remainder trust, or naming a charity as beneficiary of a pre-tax retirement account can help increase the impact of your giving while working to minimize taxes for your family. FaithWise Charitable works alongside your CPA and estate attorney to evaluate which options fit your goals. Large estates may also face federal estate tax, which the IRS estate tax overview explains in more detail.
Four Steps for Your October Estate Review
- Audit your beneficiaries. Request a current list of primary and contingent beneficiaries for every IRA, 401(k), life insurance policy, and transfer-on-death account.
- Check account ownership. Confirm that brokerage accounts and real estate are titled to your revocable trust or registered to avoid probate.
- Review trustee readiness. Ask whether your named trustees and power-of-attorney agents are prepared, and whether a professional co-trustee or advisory team would add continuity.
- Hold a family meeting. Start introducing adult children or key heirs to the values, vision, and responsibilities tied to your estate.
How Trusted Guidance Shapes a Family Legacy
Dr. Walter Wright Jr., former executive director of Fuller Seminary’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership, put it simply: “I doubt there would be a Wright Family Trust without [FaithWise Advisors].” He has said that what he values most is not the return, but the people, and that “trust is the operative word for me.” Read Dr. Wright’s story.
FaithWise Advisors did not compensate Dr. Wright for his testimonial, and his experience may not be representative of other clients.
How FaithWise Advisors Approaches Estate Coordination
- FaithWise Stewardship™. A wisdom-rooted, faith-fueled approach to every financial decision that treats giving and investing as one discipline rather than two separate conversations.
- Coordinated teams. FaithWise Charitable and FaithWise Investing work together, so your charitable plan and your portfolio are built side by side.
- Fiduciary guidance. FaithWise Investing’s advisors serve as fiduciaries, committed to independent, objective investment recommendations.
- Working alongside your professionals. The team coordinates with your CPA and estate attorney so all three can work from the same plan.
- Charitable tools in one place. Donor-advised funds, charitable remainder trusts, and endowment funds are available through FaithWise Charitable.
Talk With a FaithWise Advisor About Your Estate Plan
If your estate documents have been sitting on the shelf, now is a good time to make sure they still match your accounts, your family, and your giving. FaithWise Advisors can help you review what you have and find where things have drifted.
Schedule a conversation with a FaithWise Advisor or call (626) 765-8450.
Key Takeaways
- A trust can only control assets that are titled to it or directed to it, so asset titling should be checked regularly.
- Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance, and transfer-on-death accounts override what your will or trust says.
- Most non-spouse heirs must empty an inherited IRA within ten years, which can create a large tax bill without careful planning.
- Selecting trustees based on readiness, not just birth order, and preparing the next generation early helps protect both your wealth and your family relationships.
- Charitable tools such as donor-advised funds and charitable remainder trusts can help make your giving more tax-efficient than a simple cash bequest.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common estate planning mistake?
One of the most common is a trust that was never funded, meaning accounts and property were never retitled to the trust. Those assets may still go through probate even though a trust exists.
Do beneficiary designations override a will?
Yes. Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance, and transfer-on-death accounts generally take precedence over a will or trust, which is why reviewing them after major life changes is a helpful practice.
What is the 10-year rule for inherited IRAs?
Under current rules, most non-spouse beneficiaries must withdraw the full balance of an inherited IRA within ten years of the original owner’s death. Some beneficiaries, such as spouses and minor children, may qualify for different treatment.
How often should I review my estate plan?
Many families review their plan every few years and after major life events such as a marriage, birth, death, divorce, business sale, or move to another state.
What does a family financial advisor do in estate planning?
A family financial advisor does not replace your estate attorney. Instead, they aim to align your accounts, beneficiaries, and investment strategy with your legal documents, and they coordinate with your attorney and CPA, so everyone is working from the same plan.