Why having a Will is Important...

[abw0004 10,125]

When I first started in the financial planning business I dealt with a lot of younger families.  A lot of times it was like pulling teeth trying to convince them it was well worth a few thousand dollar to invest in your families future (I would not receive any of that fee so I had no dog in the fight).  The two links below show why it is important.  I always recommend having at least the following:

• Will - You direct where your assets go.
• Healthcare Directive - Who makes decisions related to healthcare when you are incapacitated (Do you want the plug pulled?).
• Financial Power of Attorney - Who you elect to make financial decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated.
• Revocable Living Trust (Optional, but recommended) - Circumvents probate and sets up a martial trust for your spouse as well as a family trust upon your death.

Many people assume that if you are famous or wealthy you have planning in place.  This is not the case in many circumstances.  The first link is the current situation for DMX, who did not have a will in place.  His girlfriend who is the mother of their minor child is fighting DMX's grown children for his money.  Money does strange things to a family.  It is not uncommon for siblings to start fighting when money is involved, and exacerbates the issue when no will is found.

https://www.blackenterprise.com/dmxs-fiancee-desiree-lindstrom-and-his-adult-children-embroiled-in-heated-battle-over-estate/

If you can afford it, I recommend setting up a Revocable Living Trust with your will.  Why?  If you simply have a will, anyone can look at it.  There are people who go to the courthouse just to look at your will to see who you are giving money to.  An RLT shields this from happening if the assets are transferred during your lifetime.  RLT's also turn into trusts themselves upon your passing to help make sure your funds are accessed by your surviving spouse and children as your please.  If you want your children to only have access when they turn 35, you can direct this.  Below are reasons why Philip Seymour Hoffman (famous actor in Hunger Games, Mission Impossible, etc) had a lot of issues when he died due to only having a will.

https://blog.trialandheirs.com/philip-seymour-hoffmans-highlights-critical-estate-planning-pitfalls/

https://www.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/t021-c032-s014-philip-seymour-hoffman-s-estate-planning-mistake.html

I hope this helps and motivates you to have at least three of these documents created, or updated.

[augolf1716 21,253]

Great advice 0004 and its all true. I've been with the same financial advicer group for 25 years who give the same advice. They also have a disk/flash drive copy of all my documents

In my lifetime I've seen some crazy things happen between families fighting over the money after a death. Really is a sad thing to see.

[abw0004 10,125]

18 hours ago, augolf1716 said:

Great advice 0004 and its all true. I've been with the same financial advicer group for 25 years who give the same advice. They also have a disk/flash drive copy of all my documents

In my lifetime I've seen some crazy things happen between families fighting over the money after a death. Really is a sad thing to see.

In my experience it is one of those things you don't realize you need it until it is too late.  Once someone dies, the person you need the most to answer questions is gone and the spouse/children are not in the right frame of mind to make decisions.  I see this with life insurance as well.  Some people think it is a waste of money until something happens where they become uninsurable and then they are begging for it.

Speaking of crazy things, we had a long time client of ours on Sea Island.  She was instrumental in making Home Depot what it is today.  We had a GST Trust set up for her so her children would not be affected by the Estate Tax and her children were the nicest people you will ever meet.  The day she died, we got a phone call from her children wanting to get to the money.  Once we explained it was in the trust for good reason, they hired an attorney to essentially tear down the trust to get to the money.  After this, we fired them as clients as we needed to be good fiduciaries and couldn't with what they did.

[SaltyTiger 7,837]

Echo Golf on the advice abw. Things can get complicated and unfortunately ugly sometimes.