Congrats on making it back here to read this week’s blog. This week will be the first week of a short miniseries about estate planning mistakes people make which cost a lot of money and aggravation. We hope you enjoy this first week’s article.
If you die without a will or some other form of estate planning, the state in which you reside will simply make one for you. Of course, they have no interest in avoiding or reducing estate taxes, minimizing estate administration costs or protecting your family and legacy. The distribution of your assets will just be turned over to the Probate Court. The probate process is needlessly time consuming, frustrating and expensive. It is also open to the public, meaning creditors, predators or anyone else will have complete access to all information about your estate. For the vast majority of people, the benefits of a Will or other estate planning tools far outweigh any initial costs. A recent tragic example of this very point is Prince.
Also, having an “I love you will” can be just as bad as having no will at all. This is a will in which all the decedent’s assets have been left to the spouse. On paper, it might seem to be a caring, thoughtful gesture, but the reality is quite different. That’s because such a will simply passes the complex issues and problems associated with transferring and protecting wealth onto the spouse or other loved ones. An “I love you will” creates more problems than it solves, particularly for future generations.
We, at Secure Planning Strategies, help our clients create and maintain a solid and secure financial future when it comes to estate planning. It is never too late to take your estate planning in a different direction. If you don’t want to wait for the next week’s blog article and you really want to get started today, please give us a call at: (248) 827-2580 or e-mail us at: info@spsfinancial.com.
Don’t forget to like us on Facebook to receive our latest financial updates at: https://www.facebook.com/SecurePlanningStrategies.