THREE ESTATE PLANNING MYTHS
By Annetta Munstermann
www.trust-financial-solutions.com, 928-772-8834
MYTH #1
“IʼM TOO YOUNG TO DO ANY ESTATE PLANNING.”
It is not a question of age, but of circumstances.
After many years of media coverage of families torn apart
from making decisions for a loved one about whether or not to
remove life support and the spending down of assets for the cost,
many people still donʼt have Living Wills. This document signed
by you states that if you are in a vegetative state and put on life
support then you wish to have the life support removed. Another
important legal document is a Health Care Power of Attorney
wherein you appoint an agent to make decisions for you about
your health care when you cannot do so yourself. A Durable Power
of Attorney is wherein you appoint an agent to manage your assets
when you cannot do so yourself even through the possibility of
incapacity.
If you have family responsibilities and pass away before your
children are raised, it is important that you name guardians who
will care for your children until they become of legal age. You
should also have a plan to distribute your remaining estate after your
death. Passing away without an estate plan leaves these important
decisions in the hands of a judge. As you can imagine, the stateʼs
plans for your money can be very different from what you had in
mind. A Last Will and Testament can create this for you.
MYTH #2
“MY ESTATE IS TOO SMALL TO NEED ESTATE
PLANNING.”
Think of it this way, the less you have, the more you need to
protect.
Your estate can grow surprisingly valuable after adding up your
property, investments, insurance, 401 (k)s, IRAʼs, checking and
savings accounts, and personal property such as cars, jewelry, art,
etc.
MYTH #3
“WE ARE MARRIED AND OUR ESTATE PLAN IS
JOINT TENANCY.”
There is a big expectation of joint tenancy used in this way.
Doesnʼt joint ownership avoid probate? Not really, it just
postpones it. When both owners are living, after the death of the
first owner the surviving ownerʼs name is on the title, and the court
does not have to get involved. But when the surviving owner dies
without adding another owner (which often happens), the remainder
of the estate will go through probate before it goes to the heirs.
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