I was lucky enough to go to the Red Sox game last night. Jon Lester was the pitcher. Many of you may remember him as the young pitcher who in 2006 was diagnosed with lymphoma. Jon pitched the game of his career last night. In 7 innings he threw close to 100 pitches allowing only 1 hit. He did everything he could to guarantee a great outcome. In the end, though, even though the Red Sox won, Jon is not listed as the winning pitcher of record. The Red Sox scored their single run which ultimately won the game after relief pitcher Jon Papelbon came into the game. This one detail kept Lester’s fantastic work and great effort from being recorded in the “win” column.

I was reminded of a client who did everything right in working with his attorney to develop and put in place a trust as part of an estate plan. He thoughtfully considered his personal wishes, family needs and tax considerations. By all accounts, his new trust was a “win”.

Tragically, just like Jon Lester, one detail prevented success of this estate plan. The client never made sure his trust was funded, or that change of beneficiary forms were completed to flow retirement and insurance assets through the trust. In his case, nothing in his trust was implemented. His wishes were not honored, his plans were not carried out and to add insult to injury, a big tax bill became due.

The moral of the story is to make sure that all the details of funding are tended to while you’re still “on the mound”. Some clients take direction from their attorneys but complete the details upon themselves. Others recognize the benefit to paying their attorney to do it for them - it can save time, hold someone accountable and guarantee that the job gets done. Whatever your choice, don’t assume that the work is done when the documents are signed. There are almost always ‘i’s to dot and ‘t’s to cross to complete the work and “win” the game.