It’s hard for a family to recuperate when the patriarchs and matriarchs have gone to glory, leaving a battle for who will carry the family’s leadership role and manage the family’s transition of wealth.
Beyond not making a will at all, here are the biggest mistakes that estate planning attorneys see clients make.
Out of sight, out of mind isn’t just an everyday adage—it’s one of the reasons why people 50 and over fail to write a will, update a previous one, or make other estate planning decisions.
If a loved one asks you to be the executor of their estate, think carefully before you take on this responsibility. While you have the option of declining the request, the person reaching out likely considers you to be responsible and detail oriented. An executor of an estate typically helps file paperwork, close accounts and distribute the assets of the deceased.
Many estate executors focus on estate taxes and forget about income taxes. That can be an expensive mistake.
In estate planning, the use of trusts to manage the distribution of assets is becoming increasingly more common. However, for many people, the idea of setting up a trust during his or her lifetime is overwhelming and perhaps even unnecessary.
A competent elder law or estate attorney can discuss and use, where appropriate, such provisions as the family exemption, benefits to prepaying inheritance tax, even where the tax return is not yet complete and a listing of itemized deductions.
Adult children typically don’t have to pay their parents’ bills. However, there are exceptions. Even when a child doesn’t have to pay directly, debt could reduce what they inherit.
Executors can use additional information in administering estates, especially if the executor is unrelated to the decedent.
Administration of a decedent’s estate may involve investment accounts (with stocks and bonds) held in the decedent’s name or trust.
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