So many scary stories told around Halloween involve a ghost with unfinished business left on earth. While maybe not as exciting as Hollywood plot lines filled with haunted mansions and scorned romances, sometimes the most terrifying unfinished business can be an incomplete or non-existent estate plan! Here are four estate planning horror stories to consider this spooky season, and how these folks could have prepared had they had a crystal ball:
1. The Procrastinated Plan
Tom and Cindy got married later in life and moved into a beautiful home inherited from Tom’s parents. When it came to their own estate planning, Tom and Cindy always said they would get around to it next year. Unfortunately, when Tom passes away suddenly, Cindy is left to settle his estate with a mess of unresolved issues.
Because Tom died without a will, the state of Louisiana got to decide how his assets were split. As a result, Tom’s estranged children from a previous marriage inherited all of Tom’s separate property, including their home. Cindy was forced to leave her home while also grieving her husband and handling the tangled web of his estate.
Crystal Ball: Had Tom had a crystal ball, he would have prioritized his appointment with an estate planning attorney and made sure Cindy had a home to live in at a minimum.
2. The DIY Disaster
Dan was a handyman, and always said that if you can do it yourself, you should! He heard somewhere that, in Louisiana, you can hand write your own will. In his handwritten will, he left his entire estate to Barb, his partner of 30 years. Dan wanted to make sure his estranged brother, Earl, did not inherit a single penny.
When Dan passed away, Barb visited with an attorney and discovered that Dan did not sign and date his will correctly, making it invalid. Without a valid will, the state of Louisiana steps in and says, as Dan’s only sibling, Earl will inherit the entirety of Dan’s estate.
Crystal Ball: While Dan’s do-it-yourself attitude may have gotten him far in life, this is one area where Dan should have sprung for an expert! A handwritten will can be valid in Louisiana, but there are many pitfalls that can make that handwritten will only as good as the paper it’s written on.
3. The Lost Documents
Mary is grieving the loss of her father, Peter. She knows Peter went to see an estate planning attorney many years ago, but as she searches her father’s house for any sign of his documents, she only finds an attorney’s business card. She calls the number to learn that the attorney closed her practice ten years ago.
Mary is forced to move forward and handle her father’s estate without his planning documents to guide her. What’s worse is that Mary has no information about her father’s assets! Mary now has a full-time job calling banks and digging through her father’s mail in order to piece together his estate, bit by bit.
Crystal Ball: Mary wishes she would have sat down with her dad to ask about the location of his documents and his assets. Mary immediately sits down with her oldest daughter, Jessica, to give her the code to the fire-proof safe where Mary’s documents are located, and to provide her with a list of assets. Mary and Jessica plan to have this meeting once every few years to make sure history does not repeat itself when Mary passes away.
4. The Forgotten Plan
John and Joann, with negative memories of their own parents’ successions, want to make things as easy as possible for their children when they pass away. They heard that setting up a trust will avoid the need for a succession. When they set up their trust, their attorney explained that all of their assets must be titled in the name of the trust and not in their own personal names. If done correctly, when John and Joann pass, their children will be able to quickly jump in as the trustees and take care of things, rather than waiting for the succession to make its way through the court system.
Once they retire, John and Joann buy a vacation home in Florida and a fishing camp in Grand Isle, but they have forgotten the attorney’s warning that all of their assets must be titled in the name of the trust. After they pass, their kids come to realize that those assets never made it into the trust. Now, the kids have to incur additional costs and legal headaches to complete successions for their parents in both Florida and Louisiana – exactly what John and Joann were hoping to avoid.
Crystal Ball: Could they have foreseen the outcome, John and Joann would have scheduled a review meeting with their estate planning attorney. An estate plan requires regular review to ensure that your plan continues to work as your life evolves. While it would be nice to have a crystal ball, we can’t predict the future, which is why it is so important to be prepared. Don’t let your estate become a future fright for your loved ones! It’s time to consult with an experience estate planning attorney to create or update your plan.
Legacy Estate & Elder Law has a team of experienced lawyers ready to guide you in your estate planning needs. Contact us today!
The information provided is not intended to be legal or tax advice and does not constitute any attorney/client relationship. You should consult with an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.
