A Will might not be enough…
As I’ve mentioned before, doing nothing or going through the process of DIY estate planning are both situations that can be fraught with unintended consequences.
Doing nothing can result in chaos at a time when a family has experienced loss and is grieving. Alternatively, going to Google to set up your estate plan can blow up in a way a person never anticipated (hint: there isn’t a will I’ve seen yet that is “valid in all 50 states”). Chalk this up to one of the many reasons why an estate planning attorney worth her salt is worth your time and money.
You see, there’s a method to the madness in my profession. A good estate planning attorney is an excellent communicator. Sometimes, I have to disabuse folks of the notion that the ‘client is always right’ when they come to see me. Because, sometimes, they’re not…estate planning isn’t the same thing as purchasing a car or selecting art to put above your fireplace. You pay me for my expertise. I try not to do my own car repair by YouTube (sometimes I can’t help myself). I trust the mechanic I pay to make sure the job is done right. Because he’s the expert.
So, what do I mean by saying that a will may not be enough? It means that one needs to be thorough. It means that one needs to think about all there is to think about and go the distance to make sure their estate plan is complete. Creating your estate plan starts with a conversation – a very specific conversation, with questions whose answers often implicate other scenarios and beg other questions. Do you know what you don’t know? That can be a scary scenario and the unintended consequences can be really disastrous.
Let’s look at an example. Mary Smith decides Larry Smith, her husband of 25 years, isn’t someone she wants to spend another 25 years with and pursues a divorce. After the judge signs the divorce decree, Mary rushes to update her will and other estate planning documents to make sure Larry won’t get anything when she dies. What Mary fails to do, however, is update her beneficiary designations on some life insurance policies and retirement and investment accounts. Now we’ve got a problem.
Often folks assume that a will is the final word on how an estate will be distributed at someone’s death, but not always. Some documents can have the effect of overriding wills and this is where not having a thorough estate plan created by an expert in her field can really throw a wrench in the works. Mistakes like this can result in assets going to unintended recipients or families embroiled in lengthy and costly court battles after you’re gone. Those beneficiary forms Mary filled out years ago could supersede her newly created estate plan and leave her loved ones in a position she never would have intended.
Do you know which plans and assets fall within these parameters? Do you know what you don’t know? Where this is concerned, I know what you might not know. If I can help, I’m here.
