Kansas and Missouri Estate Planning

How can I Botch My Estate Plan (without Really Trying)?

Negligence in estate planning is problematic.

Estate planning may seem like a vague concept.

Many people believe merely giving thought to your estate is sufficient for estate planning.

They have an idea of who should get what.

It is simple.

According to a recent Investopedia article titled “5 Ways to Mess Up Estate Planning,” this kind of thinking will get you in trouble.

The truth is estate planning needs to be intentional and thorough.

There are many ways to leave a mess for your loved ones.

What are they?

Neglecting to update beneficiary designations.

Not all assets pass through a will.

Do you have IRAs, 401(k)s, or life insurance policies?

Most of these assets pass directly to beneficiaries through designations within the account.

You will want to review these after life changes such as marriage, remarriage, divorce, births, or deaths in the family.

The last thing you want is an ex-spouse to receive your money.

Overlooking important legal documents.

Let us say you created a revocable living trust.

You figured this would be a good idea to keep major assets out of probate.

Surely you do not need a will.

False.

You may still need a will as it does more than instruct probate courts how to distribute assets.

For example, a will is the primary tool used to name guardians for minor children and to "fund" the trust with assets subject to probate.

Poor record-keeping.

Are you a messy person?

If yes, you should take steps now to organize your assets.

When you have done so, leave a letter of instruction for your executor.

This will help him know what he needs to do to gain access to accounts.

Breakdown in communication.

If your loved ones expect one thing and you do another, it can cause pain and confusion.

Do not leave them with these wounds.

Take the time to create a letter explaining your intentions and your reasons.

Not planning.

The worst thing you can do is to not create a plan.

Even if you do desire to do so in the future, you do not know when you will die.

Take action now.

This will save time, unnecessary grief, and money in the settlement of your estate.

Work with an experienced estate planning attorney to walk you through the creation of a plan to meet your needs and the needs of your family.

Reference: Investopedia (September 30, 2018) “5 Ways to Mess Up Estate Planning”

Will Signing My Last Will ... Hasten My Demise?

No more than breaking a mirror will trigger seven years of bad luck. 

Seriously, I think you have unwittingly(?) exposed one of the biggest excuses people have for not signing their own last wills.

Procrastination is the death bed of good intentions.

As unpleasant as it can be to think about your own death, estate planning attorneys will confirm that facing up to this fact-of-life is the first essential step to protecting both your family and your assets.

When it comes to estate planning, many folks first experience with it is the death of a loved one.

For example, after dealing with a parent’s death and going through the struggle of processing that messy estate through probate (especially if there is no estate plan in place), those folks do not want to leave the same mess for their own children.

Coincidentally, this was the theme of a recent article from The Street titled “Estate Planning Needs to Be on Your Retirement To-Do List.”

According to the article, as part of the estate planning process you need to review your investments and confirm that the beneficiaries on any transfer on death (TOD) accounts, life insurance, IRAs and 401(k) are up-to-date. In addition, make sure you execute your last will, powers of attorney, and your advance health care directive.

Teaching point: For your estate plan to operate as intended, your beneficiary designations need to be consistent with the distributions provided through your last will or revocable living trust. 

Remember, even after your estate planning documents are created, they need to be updated as changes occur in the lives of your loved ones, your assets and your plans for both.

Our rule of thumb is to give your estate plan a top-to-bottom review every two years.

Truly, estate planning is the smartest way to take care of your family and loved ones. 

Naturally, different types of estate planning are needed in different stages of life, as well as different stages of wealth building. 

Unfortunately, many people do not give serious attention to their estate planning until their 50s and 60s. As for younger people, they are concentrating on making money, providing for a family and advancing their careers. 

So, when should you begin your estate plan?

Would you believe upon reaching age 18?

It is true.

On that date you "legally" become an adult and even your parents can no longer make your personal, health care and financial decision absent legal documents authorizing them to do so.

Planning sooner is always better.

And the earlier, the better.

Work with an experienced estate planning attorney to make sure everything is ship-shape when you do. 

Remember: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” When making your financial, tax and estate plans, do not go it alone. Be sure to engage competent professional counsel.

For more information about estate planning in Overland Park, KS (and throughout the rest of Kansas and Missouri), visit our estate planning website and be sure to subscribe to our complimentary estate planning e-newsletter while you are there.

Reference: The Street (Sept. 24, 2016) “Estate Planning Needs to Be on Your Retirement To-Do List”

What is the Biggest Roadblock to Estate Planning?

Without question, the biggest roadblock to estate planning is procrastination. You know, a common (and seemingly contagious) case of never-get-around-to-its.

Hey, I get it. 

When given the choice of facing one's own morbidity and mortality and doing anything else ... anything else will win every time.

Unfortunately, when it comes to your own estate planning, the stakes are very, very high for everyone you love and everything you have.

This is the theme of a recent Houston (MO) Herald article title “Establish an estate plan before death comes knocking.”

For starters, who would care for you minor children were they suddenly orphaned? What about managing any inheritance they would receive?

If these questions have you stumped, then ask yourself whether a probate judge (who does not know you and your family) can make better selections than you.

Obviously, "human nature" is one reason tough estate planning decisions are kicked down the road year after year. 

Why?

We all think we will have plenty of time - tomorrow.

Who really knows when our precarious walk on the tight rope of time over the great chasm of eternity will end, with death stalking us at every step?

In the absence of proper planning by you now, you are setting up your family for heartache and hassles later on.

Without guidance from you regarding the backup parents, inheritance management and other key decisions, they are left to chance (or a judge) to decide for you.

Is that really what you want?

So, get your legal affairs in order, inform your loved ones and get it in writing.

But where do you start?

A good first step is to take an inventory of everything you own and everything you owe.

Thereafter, this net worth statement and asset list will help your attorney when it comes to providing estate planning options most appropriate for your unique circumstances.

He or she will educate you about the benefits and drawbacks to the various options, to include joint ownership with rights of survivorship, transfer on death/pay on death, beneficiary designations, wills and revocable living trusts.

As you can see, there are a lot of moving parts to consider.

Contact an experienced estate planning attorney and break the inertia today. 

Remember: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” When making your financial, tax and estate plans, do not go it alone. Be sure to engage competent professional counsel.

For more information about estate planning in Overland Park, KS (and throughout the rest of Kansas and Missouri), visit our estate planning website and be sure to subscribe to our complimentary estate planning e-newsletter while you are there. 

Reference: Houston (MO) Herald (October 10, 2015) “Establish an estate plan before death comes knocking”

"One and Done" only applies to NCAA Basketball Stars, not to Your Estate Planning

If you have an estate plan, congratulations. If you have not reviewed and updated that plan over the years, then not good.

The only constant in life is change.

As I have noted before, the average age of an estate plan brought to me for review is about as old as the client's eldest child.

Why?

That is a major, major life event and a matter of the highest personal responsibility.

After all, who would be the backup parents if your newborn were suddenly orphaned?

"Inattention" is the last of the three biggest barriers to successful estate planning.

Curiously, this just happens to the title of a recent financial-planning.com article.

No, really, it is titled “3 Biggest Barriers to Successful Estate Planning.”

According to the article, here is a survey of the three barriers:

1. Procrastination.

Fear is a major contributor to procrastination. Dealing with your own mortality? Who likes to think about that?

No one.

It is human nature to always have something (anything) better to do, right?

Although it is easier to let that fear of our mortality grow than to face it, the biggest fear is from doing nothing.

2. Indecision.

Some folks put off doing anything because they are riddled with indecision.

I get that.

With so many decisions to make, it is easy to have over-analysis paralysis.

For example, many new parents get hung up on selecting a guardian for their minor children.

Because they cannot agree, they simply table their estate planning all together.

Also, the retiree who is so worried about giving money to his "adult" children just knowing they will blow it or lose it (think divorces, lawsuits and bankruptcies).

Out of fear, he does nothing.

3. Inattention.

Out-of-date estate plans are a big problem.

Period.

An estate plan is not a do-it-and-forget-about-it event.

In fact, if you fail to review and update your legal documents, then they may not work as intended.

Granted, the very complexity of the subject, its subject matter, and even the constantly changing tax law contribute to what has been termed "estate planning fatigue."

This fatigue, in turn, can contribute to the very frustration and anxiety which causes people to avoid taking any action in the first place or to procrastinate later on. 

Solution?

Contact an experienced estate planning attorney for a thorough "physical exam" of your estate plan.

After you are confident everything is ship-shape, then you will enjoy that sweet estate planning peace of mind you want ... and need.

So, how do you find an "experienced" estate planning attorney?

Ask around AND do your own due diligence research.

Here are two sources clients report as essential to their vetting process (and the ones I also use before referring any matter to an attorney): Avvo.com and Lawyers.com.

Check the Avvo ratings, client ratings/testimonials and attorney endorsements on Avvo.com  and the "peer ratings" by judges/attorneys and any client ratings/testimonials on Lawyers.com.

Remember: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” When making your financial, tax and estate plans, do not go it alone. Be sure to engage competent professional counsel.

For more information about estate planning in Overland Park, KS (and throughout the rest of Kansas and Missouri), visit our estate planning website and be sure to subscribe to our complimentary estate planning e-newsletter while you are there. 

Reference: financial-planning.com (August 8, 2015) “3 Biggest Barriers to Successful Estate Planning”

Estate Planning ... Or Processing Your Procrastination? / Overland Park, KS

A plan for your estate that resides in your head and not on paper is, well, no estate plan at all. But, alas, thou dost protesteth too much! How can you finalize the estate plan when you know not what tax rules will be in effect when your estate "matures"?

So it goes.

Procrastination is the death bed of proper estate planning. [In fact, I have given it pole position as the number one "Fatal" estate planning mistake in my most recent on-demand webinar. Visit my website to enjoy all 10. The entire webinar lasts just 10 minutes.] 

Planning for the estate is really an ongoing activity in Overland Park and elsewhere. Accordingly, estate planning is not a “one-and-done” event, but rather it is a process that continues as things inevitably change.

In this sense, you might say that proper planning, as an activity, is not guided by a checklist but by rules to follow. InvestingDaily offered some useful perspective on the rule-driven process of planning in a recent article titled “10 Basic Rules of Every Estate Plan.”

Here are the "ten" basic rules, even though the original article lists "11" (or am I imagining things now?):

1. Do something
2. Keep track of your estate
3. Estimate cash flow
4. Choose executors and trustees
5. Anticipate conflicts and reduce them
6. Don’t search for a perfect solution
7. Don’t be a control freak
8. Make your general plan known
9. Don’t circulate your will
10. Things change
11. Keep it as simple as possible

Click on over to the original article for an explanation each of the "ten" (er, "11") one by one, as there is much to be said for each. What strikes me is that each rule is really an ongoing process or else a mantra to be repeated. Although not exhaustive, especially for those of us with special considerations, these are at least some basic rules and should serve as a helpful guide.

In the end, if you treat estate planning as the process it is, then such thinking will help keep you in the right mindset to enjoy ongoing estate planning peace of mind.

Remember: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” When making your financial, tax and estate plans, do not go it alone. Be sure to engage competent professional counsel.

For more information about estate planning in Overland Park, KS (and throughout the rest of Kansas and Missouri) and to download free tools to help you organize your estate, visit my estate planning website.

Reference: InvestingDaily (April 17, 2014) “10 Basic Rules of Every Estate Plan”