Money Matters with Greg
Needing guidance on finances, or just curious about investments? Join CEO and Owner of Farrall Wealth, Greg Farrall, as he dives into all things relating to money and often interviews interesting people he is fortunate enough to call his friends.
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Money Matters with Greg
Episode 175: Estate Planning Made Simple
Estate planning doesn’t have to be scary or expensive to be effective. Greg sits down with attorney Tyler Gluth to demystify the essentials—what really belongs in a basic plan, how to keep your loved ones out of court, and why beneficiary designations can quietly override everything you wrote in your will. We get real about the documents every adult should have, the pitfalls that create family rifts, and the simple steps that turn confusion into clarity.
We start with the foundation: a will or a revocable living trust, plus two powers of attorney that spring into effect if you’re incapacitated. Tyler explains how financial and healthcare POAs protect your bills, benefits, and medical choices without resorting to costly guardianships. From there, we dig into titling and beneficiaries—how IRAs, life insurance, and joint property pass outside probate—and why updating those forms may be the highest‑ROI move in your entire plan.
For listeners juggling blended families or homes in multiple states, we explore trusts as a practical “hub” that keeps assets organized and avoids duplicate probates. You’ll hear the tradeoffs between naming a relative as executor versus hiring a corporate fiduciary, including typical fee structures, the value of neutrality, and the moments when paying a professional prevents years of conflict. Along the way, we cover specific bequests the right way, the true drivers of probate costs, and the hard lessons of intestacy when the state’s default rules decide for you.
If you’ve been putting this off, this conversation gives you a clear path: make a plan, work the plan, and keep it current. Subscribe for more practical money guidance, share this with someone who needs a nudge, and leave a review to tell us what step you’re taking this week.
Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC.
The opinions voiced in this podcast are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which strategies or investments may suit you, consult the appropriate qualified professional before deciding.
Welcome to Money Matters with Greg, where we dive into the money conversations shaping your life. From investments to estate planning, insurance to taxes, we cover it all with a fresh perspective. Join Greg and his guests each week to get inspired and take control of your financial future. Let's get started. Securities and investment advisory services offered through LTL Financial Registered Investment Advisors, member Fibrex IPC.
SPEAKER_02:The show's money manager Greg. I'm Greg Farrell, CEO and owner of Feral Wealth. It's a wealth management firm locally here in Valparaiso, Indiana, and helping clients in now 24 states. You can find us at WVLP103.1 FM on two Thursdays and then replayed on Saturdays at 1 o'clock as well. And then anywhere you pod. The show talks about money as you follow in with the now the 175th episode, which will be today. Add some value to your life with your investments, with your estate plan. We did uh real estate just last week. So we're going to talk about estate planning today. And we are very excited to have uh Tyler Gloos from Marts and Lucas uh here locally in town uh to be a part of our podcast today and ultimately our video. You can find us on YouTube, you can find us anywhere you pod um as well. And uh we're gonna talk to uh stay just let Tyler kind of talk about uh things that he would recommend to help you out there with uh your wills, your trust, your probate, you know, you name it. Um there are many things we know uh that are much uh lengthier topics than uh just a 20-minute pod, but we wanted to get to something here to kind of add some value. So Tyler, thanks for being here.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, thanks for inviting me, Greg. I appreciate it. Um, you know, estate planning is a really broad topic, uh, you know, and usually it's pretty intimidating, or sometimes can be intimidating to some people and kind of confusing because a lot of people may not understand or know completely what it encompasses.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Um we find is, I mean, I see 80 to 90 percent of the people that I meet just in general, and this isn't necessarily clients uh or high net worth clients, but most people don't even have a will. They don't have a medical bar of attorney. So, like, where can you start with that?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I would I would tend to agree with you. Uh a lot of people don't have an estate plan, and the problem is when they realize they need one or should have one, it's oftentimes too late. So um a good starting point uh is in the interest of you know theoretically saving yourself money or you know being cost effective with your resources is you know uh getting an estate plan and getting a good one that encompasses not only a willer trust, but also a financial or healthcare power of attorney. Um the benefits to an estate plan, you know, a lot of people say, well, why do I need one? I'll I'll be dead. And the reality is is yeah, you you will have passed, it'll make your life much easier, or I should say your your beneficiaries' lives are much easier, if you have your wishes detailed, but also most importantly is getting those powers of attorney executed during your lifetime while you have capacity. Uh, because again, if you wait till it's too long or too late and you're incapacitated, well then your family has to more often than not open a guardianship to assist you with things, and that's incredibly expensive. So a good starting point is to to find yourself a good advisor, to get yourself a good estate plan, and uh that is the starting point, just taking action, learning what your options are, and you know, again, that's a whole different pipeline of topics. But more often than not, most people just need a will uh with their powers of attorney and you get those executed. And a good again, a good attorney should be able to walk you through not only what your wishes are, but the impact that those wishes will have on your state after you've passed and how your assets will flow or pass to your beneficiaries. And there's things and mechanisms that we do and that you use in your industry as well to help that happen.
SPEAKER_02:Sure. And most people don't even realize that just the beneficiaries on an IRA or tax deferred is you know, it all trumps wills. And it's so easy and it's free. You know, like it's an easy way to be able to make sure that you give a percentage to a charity. You can give part of your IRA that way, you know, in a very easy way. You don't have to go through a long process to do that. Um, but if one is wanting to categorize, itemize inventory their estate as to where things go, what's the one thing that you would I mean, you suggest obviously last will uh last will and testament?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so we do we get clients that obviously want to leave specific items or specific assets to beneficiaries. Yeah. And that's a pretty easy thing to screw up. Um if you think you're kind of gonna do it on your own and you know, hey, I'm gonna write a letter to my children and and tuck in an envelope and they're gonna know what to do with you know all of my guns or jewelry, or you know, oftentimes it's always something like uh plates, dishware, you know, what what have you. But again, that's really important because you have to meet with an attorney or should, um, and there's a there's a statute that covers that where you have to specifically identify the item, you have to describe it, and you have to detail where you want it to go. And uh we incorporate that into your state plan. And again, when your state gets probated, we ensure whoever represents your personal representative will ensure that all those assets get to where you wanted them to go. Um, so it's very important that you have a skilled professional to assist you with that because again, what we find is people write it on the back of a napkin or something like that, and that's just not legally enforceable.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. One of the things we always find is that um, you know, asking your best friend or your brother, your sister, or whomever that you trust uh to be executor of the state is always seems like a very flattering, honorable offering, but we all know it sucks.
SPEAKER_01:It is not a fun job.
SPEAKER_02:It's not something you give to someone. I honestly, if you like them, you probably shouldn't give them the so it's a ton of work, it's a lot of work, it's uh fiduciary responsibility that you aren't necessarily aware of as well to make sure that everything goes the right way. Um so let me ask you this if there's as far as cost involved, that's the that's the cheapest free version, right? To have an executor that's a family member run the estate. But like if you don't want to do that, where can you go? And then what kind of cost would be entailed with some of those things as far as like trustees?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so I would say more often than not, most people select a relative, um, a sibling to serve as their executor or the personal representative. And I say those terms, they're they're ultimately interchangeable. Trustee is slightly different, it's ultimately the executor of your trust, so to speak. Um, and like I said, most people pick relatives or family members. However, we also have clients that um know that sometimes there are potential conflicts of interest, uh, especially when your executor or your uh trustee is a beneficiary, and so sometimes that presents challenges, or there's just um family dynamics that sometimes present challenges. So in those instances, a lot of our clients will will seek a corporate fiduciary to serve as the trustee or personal representative in that capacity. And the benefit to that is theoretically it's a neutral party that doesn't have any skin in the game and obviously has knowledge on how to handle these things, especially in relation to financial accounts. Um and there are fees associated with that, right? Because it's a professional practice or professional service that they're offering. The fees in my experience range dramatically depending on what institution you go uh with, but usually they take a percentage of the assets under management. Um it can fluctuate, and Greg, you could probably touch a little bit more on that. But you know, um usually it's tiered two at a lot of places, right? Uh based on the amount of funds that are under management or the value of the assets under management. But you know, I I've seen it uh about a one percent or one and a quarter, and usually there's a flat fee associated with it as well. And sometimes there's hourly rates associated with it. Yeah, it can go into the thousands, if not tens of thousands, if you're not. Oh, yeah. I mean it's it's the most it is the most expensive way, I would say, using a corporate fiduciary to administer trust, but theoretically, more often than not, it eliminates a lot of the counsel.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, we have uh so with our broker dealer, they bought a massive trust company for that reason because they would lose uh you know assets overall would go to banks that would be named. Uh and then the advisor would lost their whole relationship with the family. So they went out and bought PTC, which is called Private Trust Corporation, and uh they could be named in a will or a trust or whatever, so we can actually continue to work with the family, which is great. Um, and we see those fees be, you know, everywhere 3,500 to six grand somewhere in there-ish as a flat fee to take to come in and be the trustee. And especially in a divide, like a you know, many of our clients have uh second second marriages and they have different kids, and there's they want their three, you know, the Brady Bunch situation where three kids, you know, from a previous marriage want to make sure that they're good, three kids want to make sure that they're good, and a trustee can do that.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah. I tr a trust and you know, uh the way the federal inheritance tax threshold is situated now, it's not so much of a concern for a lot of our people here in North. Well, in general, right? The reality is most people don't accumulate that level of wealth in their lifetime.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and so that I know what it is, but I want the audience to know. So what is the exemption overall?
SPEAKER_01:Rough ballpark, I want to say uh per individual it's like$15 million.
SPEAKER_02:It's going to 15. Yeah, it's going to fifteen. It's$13.9,$13.9-ish right now.
SPEAKER_01:So uh it's it's obviously relatively high, and very few people attain that. And so uh, you know, trusts have their purpose. You know, I I tell people trust functions as a hub, right? During your lifetime, you put everything in the hub. You may die, but during your life you're in control of the hub. But when you die, you're gone, but the hub remains. And your successor trustee just comes right back in, fills your shoes, and then drives the bus, you know, uh controlling the hub, so to speak. Okay. Um the benefit to that is if done correctly, you can avoid probate. The cons to trust are it's incumbent on you for your whole life to ensure that everything makes its way into that hub. And if you forget something, well then you have to probate that asset and administer a trust. So you have two administrations when you should only have one. Um, but trusts absolutely serve their purpose. Um, you know, a subsequent spouse scenario, like you said, Greg, or a blended family. Um, or the more common thing that we see are people that snowbird in Florida or have a cabin in Michigan, and you don't want to have to probate two states and two different states. So the benefit to trust is the trust holds the the real estate.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and we always make sure that when when people establish a trust, they understand the fact that basically they as an individual disappear.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:100%. Suddenly they're wiped off the face of the earth. Yeah. And now their trust is, you know, they are the trustee, they are the owner of that trust, of course, you know, whatnot. But the trust now exists, so you have to really think like that with everything you do in life. Everything, you know, which is uh really important. To everyone, so first of all, just real quick station identification. Um, the show's Money Matters for Greg. I'm Greg Farrell, CEO and owner of Feral Wealth. It's a show about money. We talk here on 103.1 FMWVLP on Thursdays at one o'clock and Saturdays replayed at one. Um, and then we also can you can find us anywhere we pod our YouTube channel at Feral Wealth is all of our socials. Uh you can find us there as well. We're talking with Tyler, Tyler Gluth here from Martin Lucas, who's local downtown uh in Valparaiso, Indiana, talking estate planning today. Tyler, just a real simple question. What are the three things that uh everyone really should have in regards to estate plan? Just simple, basic paper.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I would say first and foremost is to have an estate plan in general. Taking that initiative, just getting to that spot sometimes is difficult for people. Um, and I don't blame them because the having to think about death at any point in during your lifetime is sometimes pretty difficult, and but it's a reality similar to taxes, right? No one gets to avoid those or they shouldn't. Um and then the other two the other two things that I think are hugely, hugely crucial, and oftentimes probably more important than the estate plan itself, whether it be a will or trust, is having a financial poverty attorney and a healthcare poverty attorney. Um because you would hate to be in a scenario where unfortunately you you have stroke or you know you're incapacitated in a long long term and you don't have anyone that can make those difficult healthcare decisions for you, and you're just relying on a really sweet physician uh you know, being kind to uh to understand situation. So having a those three documents, whether it be a will or a trust, financial power of attorney, healthcare power attorney is three most important things you can have.
SPEAKER_02:And the financial power of attorney, just to uh thank you for that, uh, the financial power of attorney is really who's gonna pay my rent or my mortgage or my you know credit card bill and my electricity bill while I'm incapacitated in the hospital, right? It's not like you're giving them power to do other things with your finances.
SPEAKER_01:So there are obviously different types of uh financial powers of attorney, but we we at Martin Lucas Wright springing powers of attorney, meaning they go into effect upon your incapacity. And you're right. Um they have power and authority under the statute, they have to function in your interest, their fiduciary, like you referenced prior. Um they basically, if upon your incapacity, would run all your business and financial affairs. They'd pay your utilities, your rent, mortgage, things of that nature, but they're they have to adhere to the law and function in your best interest.
SPEAKER_02:Okay. So follow along, it's not like they you have to be incapacitated before it springs into life, in essence, right?
SPEAKER_01:Correct. I mean, you you could um you could just grant someone power attorney, you know, today to function that capacity for you. Oftentimes I don't like that uh because we do see financial abuse, right? Um, especially with elderly individuals, uh, but we see with younger folks too. Um so that's why again I I write them to spring into effect upon incapacity. Because at the end of the day, theoretically, that's more often than not when you really need it. And it incapacity in Indiana doesn't necessarily mean that you know he again you're in a coma or something to that effect. It could be something as simple as you had a surgery and you're homebound.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, um, well done. Thank you. Uh the other question I had was uh probate. So like most people don't realize probate's come a long way in you know 20, 30 years, at least in my career. I mean, it used to everyone's like, ah, you know, but it's it is it is better, uh, but it is timely, it is it, you know, it is expensive. What any idea on the range of costs to have to run things, you know, if you do have a bunch of things that are need to be good go through probate in the state of Indiana and then beyond?
SPEAKER_01:So that's a difficult question because obviously every scenario is different, but the things that do impact the price or cost of your uh probate estate are how many assets do you have to probate? Um and again, with modern banking, you can I should back up. Probate just means the legal mechanism to get your things from point A to point B when they cannot automatically transfer upon your death. And so examples of non-probate assets are anything that's jointly owned as true joint tenants or joint owners, or any asset that has a beneficiary tagged on it. Good example, life insurance, non-probate. Uh home that's owned as husband and wife, non-probate, just goes to the surviving spouse. An asset that is oftentimes probatable is a car that's only titled in one spouse's name, or a bank account that's titled in only one spouse's name. Um so probate can is a fairly long process, it can be costly. The range of cost really depends on, you know, again, the number or amount of assets they have to get uh addressed. Um but the biggest driver oftentimes is conflict. Um if everyone plays well together and gets along, oftentimes they're not too bad. Um but you know, if you get to fighting and there are disagreements, which oftentimes there is because there's a lot of emotion involved. Families disagree, or you can yeah, they tend to. Well, you know, if the you throw death and money into the mix, it oftentimes plays games with people's psyche, and we see that a lot. Um and the one thing that we do here that uh I appreciate a lot, and I think a lot of attorneys in Northwest India try to do or should do is try to keep a lid on conflict. Uh the more often, you know, everyone says, well, lawyers like to argue. Um I would disagree with that. I mean, obviously there's some that do, but I see a vast majority of us now, like you said, probates come a long way. We're problem solvers, right? We see all the potential hiccups and we see all the little rumblings amongst families. And again, if we can keep a lid on it and just get you to the end of the tunnel, it's really not too bad. And I'm sorry, it doesn't necessarily answer your question because it is it is a wide range, and it it is more expensive now than what it was pre-COVID. Um, but there's factors well the cost one costs in general everywhere have gone up, and so the cost and legal profession have gone up. But the other thing that we see too is uh again, I don't know if it's society or if it's culture or things like that. We we find people fighting about a lot of things. And again, if you have a very detailed and good estate plan that you've done with, you know, a skilled professional, it eliminates a lot of those problems. Or, you know, I won't say eliminate, but can minimize the impediment.
SPEAKER_02:Minimize for sure. Okay, very, very cool. Uh we're talking with Tyler Gluth here from Marshall Lucas, uh state planet attorney, and a number of other things that their practice does. Um one of the things that I want to make sure the audience knows how to get a hold of you. So where's the best way to find you?
unknown:Sure.
SPEAKER_01:You can call us here at Marts and Lucas. We're at 105 Lincoln Way, downtown Valparaiso. We're right across the street from Blackbird Cafe. We've been here for about 10 years now. You can always give us a call at the office. Our phone number is 219-462-1529. Or if you have any questions or concerns or thoughts, you can always email me at tgluth at marts and lucas.com.
SPEAKER_02:Awesome. And that's March with the Z, right?
SPEAKER_01:Correct. Yep. And totally spelled out.
SPEAKER_02:Exactly. Well done. Anything else you want to leave with the uh leave the audience with here uh as we kind of close up?
SPEAKER_01:No, I I think we've touched on a lot of basic concepts of estate planning. Again, it is a pretty pretty broad range. And you know, it's the thing about it is it's not always a one-size fits all. And it's uh one of those things that you just have to one take the initiative to do it, and then when you do it, the peace of mind that you get after the fact I I think takes weight off of a lot of people's shoulders.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, maybe we can do another uh episode where we start talking about the sophisticated stuff with the family trust and the clats and the cruts and all the other stuff that goes on in like all the junk that accompanies it.
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_02:You know, that's a whole nother conversation for everybody out there, but um that it does exist and uh I do see uh a need for, especially with the families that we work with and they're when they have millions of dollars of assets and uh many different properties and different states, and it's just uh it's necessary, it really is. So and again, uh as my dad always taught me, and I run the whole business after this premise is uh make a plan, work the plan. And if you don't have an estate plan, it's really tough to work the plan for your your successors and your your heirs and your beneficiaries.
SPEAKER_01:It's definitely difficult. And without one, I can't tell you I could write a book on the number of horror stories we've seen are really sad scenarios. Because again, if you don't have one, you know, the state of Indiana and almost every other state, I'm sure, in the United States, has a statute that theoretically covers your bases called intestacy. Yep. And what they do is they're happy to give it to you too. Yeah. Our wonderful lawmakers have thought that they have covered everyone's bases, but the problem is when you die in test state, oftentimes your assets go to places you don't necessarily want them to go. And sometimes that's really difficult news to give to a family. Well, in fact, we just had to do it yesterday. Um it's challenging. So I can't stress enough the importance again of having an estate plan, but also truly an emphasis on those powers of attorney, because you would hate to have someone have to open a guardianship for you and you want to talk about cost and ineffectiveness. A guardianship administration is is one of those. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you so much. Thanks for being on, Tyler. Really, really appreciate it. Um yeah, and have a great holiday. Uh we'll see everybody. See everybody later. We'll see you.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks. Thanks for tuning in to Money Matters with Greg. We hope you gained some valuable insights today. Remember, your financial journey is personal, but you don't have to go it alone. If you enjoyed the show, be sure to subscribe and share. Until next time, here's to making your money work for you. Securities and investment advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor, member FINRA SIPC.
