A good estate plan should zoom out to account for these other means of asset transfer, including beneficiary or payee on death designations, rights of survivorship, etc.
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After Aretha Franklin passed away last August, she was believed to have died intestate--that is, without a will. But recent reports suggest that not only did she have one will, but she may have had three.
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What happens to a person’s assets and debts when they die? You may know that a person’s assets pass either to the beneficiaries of a will/trust/beneficiary designation or, in the absence of such planning, according to the will the state of Texas wrote for you. But what about debts?
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A good estate plan should zoom out to account for these other means of asset transfer, including beneficiary or payee on death designations, rights of survivorship, etc.
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So you’ve finally done it. After years of thinking “I really need a will” you’ve finally called me and set an appointment to discuss your estate planning needs. What will the process look like? How long will it take?
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As of today, it appears that musical legend Prince died without a will*. When a person dies without a will, or “intestate,” his property passes according to a formula prescribed by state law, not the decedent’s wishes.
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There’s really no way around it: making an estate plan necessarily involves confronting the possibility of our own death and incapacity. For those of us with young children, this also means confronting the idea of our children growing up without us, being raised by someone else.
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If you've read Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, you may have recognized the reference in the title to one of the habits he describes: before you begin any project, take some time to envision the future outcome you are working toward so that you can take concrete steps in the present to make that future a reality.
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A question I've been asked several times goes something like this. Client executed a will and powers of attorney previously, maybe in a different state, and now wants me to review and let him know if the current documents still meet his needs. Sounds easy enough, right? Well...not really.
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A statutory durable power of attorney enables you to appoint an agent to manage your finances in the event you are unable to do so, and is an essential piece of the estate planning puzzle for virtually every adult. Having a POA in place greatly reduces the likelihood of a court having to appoint a guardian to manage your estate for you, a much more expensive and cumbersome option.
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When I started my solo practice, I was told by several people that work would come in cycles and that has proven true. For several months it was all about will-based estate plans, then a rash of people needing preparation or administration of revocable living trusts, and now, it appears, a run of wills to probate. It's interesting when work comes along in patterns like this.
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We work hard and make sacrifices to build a good life for our children but many parents fail to plan for the effect their own death or incapacity would have on their child. In fact, most parents of young children have probably put more thought into the purchase of their child's carseat than into planning for their own death or incapacity.
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What better way to show someone you love and care about them than to plan ahead now to make a difficult time in the future easier for them?
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As you consider whether you can afford an estate plan, it’s worth considering what will happen if you die or become incapacitated without one.
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