203: Estate Planning Misses: How to Make Cash Available Immediately After Death

In this episode of Absolute Trust Talk, managing attorney Kirsten Howe tackles one of the most overlooked practical challenges in estate planning: making sure your loved ones have access to cash immediately after you die. Kirsten walks through why the most common account structures — trust-held accounts, individually owned accounts, and pay-on-death designations — all come with delays that can leave families unable to cover urgent expenses, such as funeral and burial costs. She then breaks down the one strategy that actually works, adding a trusted co-owner to a small joint checking account, and explains the legal implications of joint tenancy and right of survivorship that every family needs to understand before going this route. Kirsten also explains why keeping the account balance modest matters and why leaving a written statement of intent is essential when there is more than one beneficiary. Time-stamped Show Notes: 0:00 Introduction 0:43 Why having cash readily available immediately after death is a problem many families don't anticipate. 1:30 Yes, you can prepay for funerals, burials, and cremations — but this episode focuses on those who haven't done that. 2:15 How trust-held accounts work at death: the successor trustee gains access, but only after a death certificate is obtained — which can take two to three weeks. 3:10 Accounts held in your own name are even slower. Why? The law requires a 40-day waiting period before anyone can access them. 4:00 Pay-on-death beneficiary accounts also require a death certificate, making them similarly slow in a time-sensitive situation. 4:45 The joint account strategy: adding a trusted person as a co-owner gives them immediate access — no death certificate required. 5:50 Did you know? When you add someone to an account, and you die, that account legally belongs to the co-owner through right of survivorship. 7:00 Why this strategy still works in practice: most families handle it correctly, but the key is the conversation — and keeping the account balance modest. 8:10 If you have more than one child or beneficiary, it's important to document why you added one person to the account so there are no surprises. 9:00 The cash-at-home option is possible but not recommended due to security and safety risks. 9:30 The bottom line: a small joint account with a trusted co-owner is the most reliable way to make cash available immediately after death. Take the Next Step in Your Estate Planning Journey If this episode resonated with you, we'd love to help you with your own estate planning needs in California. Schedule a complimentary discovery call with our team at Absolute Trust Counsel. During this no-obligation conversation, we'll: Learn about your unique situation and goals Answer questions about our services Determine if we're the right fit to work together Visit or call 925-943-2740 to schedule your free discovery call today. Follow and Review: We'd love for you to

You can listen to 203: Estate Planning Misses: How to Make Cash Available Immediately After Death online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

203: Estate Planning Misses: How to Make Cash Available Immediately After Death is an episode from Absolute Trust Talk by Kirsten Howe.

This episode is 08:36 long.

This episode was published on Mar 26, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Absolute Trust Talk when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.