Downs Law Firm, P.C.
However, not having the difficult talk sets the table for big family problems later. When financial decisions and medical caretaking are stumbled upon, many unexpressed expectations will likely collide.
At some point, you’ll want to share your estate plans with your loved ones—and the first step in this process may be to hold a family meeting.
Early in 2024, you should communicate with your advisers and review several items about your 2023 planning, if that planning is to have any likelihood of succeeding.
However, settling the second spouse’s affairs was more complex, even with advance planning. Everything from wills to banking to tax returns became more complicated.
There are better—and often more creative—ways to plan and divide that can avoid family squabbles over cars, jewelry, furniture and household items.
You should not name a legal minor as a beneficiary. This applies to almost all legal documents, most notably wills and life insurance policies.
A badly in debt woman dies leaving the proceeds of substantial insurance policies to her children only to have her trust contested by relatives who claim an amendment naming the children as beneficiaries is invalid with no witnesses, misspelled names, suspicious signatures and was never given to previous trustees for review as required by agreement. A long, expensive, and protracted legal battle likely is brewing.
While thinking about legacy planning can be unpleasant because it involves discussions about incapacity or mortality, it’s an important aspect of good financial planning that shouldn’t be ignored.
From contentious relatives to scam artists, wills are not immune to the threat of a contest. If you have an inkling such a fight could be in your estate’s future, here are some ways to limit the risk.
Few will argue that the most important time to have a will is when you are parents of young children.
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