We all know what can happen when you don't have a Will or Trust. So why, then, do so many people die without an estate plan? Besides procrastination,
which we all experience, and failure to make it a financial priority, I think many people just don't know what to do. There are family dynamics that feel impossible to navigate.
A common scenario involves the tension in a second marriage between the current spouse and children by a prior marriage. Whose interests should be primary? How to provide for the spouse in such a way that your children aren't left with nothing by the time the surviving spouse dies? Another common scenario involves children in a bad marriage. How to protect the child's inheritance from the influence of a disfavored spouse? In case of divorce, how to make sure your child's inheritance will still be there as a nest egg when the child is starting over?
Another situation people struggle with is children who are not similarly situated, financially, or may struggle with disability. How do you leave more to one child than another? Will the relationships among the siblings be irreparably harmed by what you do?
There may not be perfect solutions to all these issues, but people would benefit from seeking the advice of an experienced estate-planning attorney. First, they would find out they are not alone.
It is true that every family is unique and no one-size-fits all, but you will be comforted to know you are not the only one facing your particular problem. Second, the attorney may have suggestions that you had not thought of, or ideas for how a trust can be designed that you did not think possible. Often the attorney can help craft the “script” that can be used to explain a difficult estate plan decision to family members.
Most important is the universal truth that doing something is better than doing nothing. Life is precarious and uncertain. A revocable trust can be amended. The estate plan you create now is not set in stone for all time. You can keep working on it and making adjustments. But, with good legal and practical advice, you can make an estate plan that protects your family in the best way possible, even if it’s not perfect.
By Lisa Alexander, Esq.
JAKLE, ALEXANDER & PATTON, LLP
Direct Line: 310-656-4310
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