Steer Clear of These Estate Planning Mistakes
As estate planning attorneys, we often encounter families who are suffering due to estate planning mistakes that were made by other family members. There is usually some type of damage control that can be done, but as they say, you don’t want to try to close the barn door after the horse has left.
Let’s look at some common estate planning mistakes that you should avoid.
Intestacy
People sometimes procrastinate when it comes to estate planning. They know that they should have a plan in place, but they feel as though they can take care of the matter when they are elders.
Unfortunately, you never know what the future holds. If you never get around to creating an estate plan, you will die intestate. Under these circumstances, the court would distribute your assets using the intestacy succession laws of the state of Texas.
Your own true wishes may never be carried out, and people that you love may be disinherited.
Family Harmony
There are individuals who never take family harmony into consideration. If you make estate planning decisions that are not going to sit well with certain family members, you have to consider the aftermath. A bit of wisdom and flexibility can go a long way toward keeping the peace.
Failure to Address Incapacity
Many elders become unable to communicate sound decisions toward the end of their lives. If you were to become incapacitated, the state could ultimately appoint someone to manage your financial affairs.
Health care decisions can also enter the picture. Would you want to be kept alive through the use of artificial means if you were in a terminal condition with no hope of recovery?
A well constructed estate plan will address incapacity. You could create a durable financial power of attorney to name someone to handle your monetary affairs in the event of your incapacitation.
Your incapacity plan should also include advance directives for health care. A living will is an advance directive that is used to state your wishes regarding the use of life-sustaining measures. You can also add a health care proxy to name someone to handle your health care decision-making.
DIY Estate Planning
There are websites on the Internet that sell generic, boilerplate estate planning documents like wills and trusts. If you try to plan your estate on your own without any legal assistance, unintended negative consequences can result
When you are facilitating the distribution of everything that you have earned to the people that you love the most, you should probably act with the benefit of legal guidance.
Schedule a Free Consultation
Our firm would be glad to help if you would like to put a personalized estate plan in place. To schedule a free consultation, contact us through this page: Dallas TX Estate Planning Attorneys.
To learn more, please download our free estate planning and you here.
