This is an all-too-common misconception

“If you don’t know where you are going, how can you expect to get there?”
- Basil S. Walsh

How was Thanksgiving? Any family gaffes to share with the entire world? I promise to only re-print your name if you make my staff upset. I jest, of course.

(Seriously, though, leave me a comment and let us know how things are going with your family–we’d love to hear what’s been happening with you!)

Now…have you ever had a myth “busted”? Of course, there’s that popular show on The Discovery Channel which I’ve enjoyed from time to time–I think there’s a primal pleasure in having preconceptions blown apart (sometimes *literally* on that show!).

Well, I’m here to do some mythbusting of my own this week, if you’ll forgive the hubris . Many families believe these to be true, and it’ll be the subject of this week’s Strategy Note (as well as one in a couple weeks down the road).

Would love your feedback.

“Straight Talk” Personal Strategy
Part 1: Common Myths About Estate Planning

As of this writing, it’s a fact that almost 60% of Americans don’t have a basic will, and that’s a big problem.

One of the big reasons that most families don’t yet have this in place is because of some incorrect thinking about whether it’s right for them, or if it’s even necessary. And sure, some people just haven’t gotten around to creating a will or trust. Others think they don’t need an estate plan because they’re not rich. I’ve even heard from people that they don’t want to put it in place because when they do, it’s sending some sort of death wish into the universe (or some such).

Well, I’ll start by busting THAT myth: Preparing a plan for your succession will not speed your demise. Easy enough.

But here’s the problem–if you continue without an estate plan, you could leave a legacy of bad feelings and attorneys’ fees.

But, I’ll move off of the easy one, and speak to some of the more common misconceptions out there. I’ll start with two this week, and address three more a couple weeks from now.

1. Only rich people prepare estate plans.

Do you own ANYTHING? Because if so, you need a will. You see, a will allows you to designate who will receive your property should anything happen. Continuing without one ensures that your assets will be distributed under the terms of your state’s “intestate succession” laws. That means your money and property could end up with family members you haven’t spoken to in years, instead of who you’d really like to see control your assets.

I won’t go into all of the different components of a will, trust, health care directive etc., as my purpose here is to emphasize that failing to plan is simply a decision to trust your assets to government bureaucrats.

Even if you think your situation is pretty straightforward, you may feel more comfortable hiring a lawyer to guide you through the process.

2. Everything goes to your spouse, if something happens.

Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. We deal with clients from different states around the country, and state laws vary. In fact, in most states, if you continue without a will (intestate), your inheritance will be divided among your spouse and your children. In New York, for example, when someone dies intestate, the spouse gets the first $50,000 of the estate and what’s left is divided 50-50 among the spouse and the children.

You can imagine how this could create all kinds of problems, particularly if your spouse was financially dependent on you or you have children from a previous marriage.

I’ll include a few more in the weeks ahead, but I hope you can already see that things are not always as we “think”.

But I hope this helps. To your family’s financial and emotional peace…