Not Discussing Your Estate Plan with Your Family Many people make the critical error of not discussing their estate planning, and why certain choices were made, with their family prior to their passing. Communication is especially important when your plan includes unequal asset distributions among your children. A failure to communicate often causes hurt feelings…
Category: Blog
#8 of 25 Common Estate Planning Mistakes – Alternates
Failing to Name More Than One Successor Trustee / Personal Representative Estate planning is about “what if?” Your plan should include designated backups / alternatives for all of the key players, including successor trustee / personal representative. Estate plans fail because people make presumptions about the order of death and availability of people to take…
#7 of 25 Common Estate Planning Mistakes – Trustee/Representative
Naming the Wrong Successor Trustee / Personal Representative Your properly drafted and fully funded living trust may not achieve your goals if your successor trustee fails to follow (or understand) its provisions. Many people name one or more of their adult children as successor trustee without fully considering whether he or she is best suited…
#6 of 25 Common Estate Planning Mistakes – Attorney
Not Working with an Experienced Estate Planning Attorney Many people attempt to save money on estate planning by getting a do-it-yourself trust agreement online. Or selecting the attorney who offers the lowest price, regardless of experience. A better value is to work with an experienced estate planning attorney who will craft your estate plan to…
#5 of 25 Common Estate Planning Mistakes – Not Funding
Not Funding Your Living Trust Living trusts must be funded to avoid probate and the need for guardianship. “Funding” a living trust means completing the process of retitling your assets from your individual name to the name of your trust. Funding includes both assets with titles (like real estate) and those without titles (like household…
#2 of 25 Common Estate Planning Mistakes – Will Only
Limiting Estate Planning Documents to a Will For many people, estate planning begins and ends with the signing of a will. A will is not an estate plan. A will can, in suitable situations, be part of an estate plan. In addition to a will, a complete estate plan should include, at least, a power…
#1 of 25 Common Estate Planning Mistakes – No Plan
A properly designed and maintained estate plan can be a very positive legacy. The benefits and services provided by the Legacy Assurance Plan were designed to assist you with avoiding these common mistakes. The biggest estate planning mistake is failing to plan. The result is that if you become incapacitated, your family will need to…