Avoid these 10 Common Estate Planning Mistakes
As a Family Lawyer I see many of the same estate planning
mistakes made time and again by people who either fail to plan properly or who
use “do-it-yourself” estate planning websites or forms in an effort to save
money.
Without professional guidance, this can cause more problems
for your heirs and end up depleting estate assets by far more than what you
could potentially “save” by doing it yourself online.
A qualified estate planning attorney or Family Lawyer can
help you avoid these 10 common estate planning mistakes:
1. Failure to leave
any written documentation of your assets, including a list of your online
accounts and passwords
2. Failure to let
family members know where to find important estate planning documents
3. Failure to name a
guardian for minor children or choosing a guardian who lives far away without planning for temporary, local guardianship (solved with a comprehensive Legal Guardian
Plan for Children)
4. Failure to name
recipients for your personal possessions
5. Failure to
designate beneficiaries for retirement and other financial accounts
6. Failure to name
secondary beneficiaries
7. Failure to name
alternative trustees or executors
8. Failure to properly
fund or title assets to any trusts you have established
9. Failure to update
your estate plan as life circumstances change
10. Failure to create
an estate plan of any kind and instead leaving it to the court system to decide how your assets will be distributed
If you’d like to learn more about how to avoid common estate
planning mistakes that could cost your heirs dearly, call our office today to
schedule a time for us to sit down and talk.
