A letter of instruction is a cheat sheet for anyone involved in settling your affairs. Unlike a will, this letter has no legal authority. However, it can provide an easy-to-understand explanation of your overall estate plan to your executor and lay out your wishes to your family for things not covered by the will.
A good letter of instruction should contain the following information: A complete list of all assets. The whereabouts of any tangible assets that are not readily accessible. Necessary information about all liquid assets, including bank, brokerage, retirement, and investment accounts.
Seeking Legal Counsel The trustee should have a trust lawyer to guide them through how to dissolve a trust after the grantor's death. Your trust lawyer can help to identify any dissolving trust tax implications. A trust lawyer can help you understand can a trustee revoke a revocable trust.
It's not a replacement for a will, and in fact it's not even a legal document. But it can be incorporated into the necessary legal documents as a guide and the key to making sure everything is accounted for and accessible to the family members left behind.
Dear NAME OF TRUSTEE: The purpose of this letter is to confirm our representation of you as Trustee of the trust created by DECEDENT, and to set forth the terms of our engagement.
A beneficiary letter of instruction should include the names and contact information of your beneficiaries, as well as their relationship to you. It should also specify how you would like the assets in your bank account to be distributed and any other instructions or wishes you may have.
Only the trustee can close the trust account. Check the bank's requirements for closing accounts to see what documentation you need to bring with you, usually personal identification and any papers you received when you first set up the trust account.
It's a good way to let to those trusted to take care of your affairs know what you would want them to know. Since the letter of instruction is not a legal document, it does not need to be notarized or signed in the presence of witnesses or with any other special formality.