No one wants to think about death and dying. As Benjamin Franklin famously said in the 18th century, the only certain thing in life is death and taxes. Estate planning without legal advice from an attorney may lead to unintended consequences. One client whose mother had used a popular online estate planning platform to prepare a will found out after her mother died that the mother had inadvertently created a life estate in the family home for one of the client’s siblings. The life estate allowed the client’s sibling to continue to live in the family home, rent free, and with no obligation to pay for utilities or property taxes. The mother’s estate was required to be left open indefinitely until the death of the holder of the life estate. The ongoing expenses of maintaining the family home drained other assets of the mother’s estate, and deprived other family members from their inheritances.
You may think you do not need estate planning because you have very few assets. Estate planning is not just for wealthy people. If you own a home, make sure you leave it to those you intend to, and not to chance. If you have minor children, it is important for you to identify who you want as their guardian if you die before they reach adulthood. Some of the biggest battles occur when family members squabble over who should take care of the children. Do not leave this decision to family, friends, or in some instances, the courts.
Contact Us with Your Estate Planning QuestionsInstead of focusing on estate planning as planning for the inevitable, Mike uses people’s unique circumstances for estate planning as another financial planning tool to build financial success for individuals and families. Mike’s goal is to provide experienced guidance for his clients to achieve peace of mind that their financial affairs are in order and unintended consequences are avoided so they can enjoy every good thing in life.